(Filed: 03/11/2005)
Nicolas Sarkozy, a man in a hurry to reach the Elysée, has come up against a deeply engrained, long-term problem which is defying his formidable energies. Reacting to the riots which over the past week have scarred several of the poor suburbs with heavy concentrations of immigrants around Paris, the French interior minister has rightly called for zero tolerance of violence.
But he has damaged his case by resorting to the language of the far Right, speaking of cleaning the "scum" out of the suburbs "au Kärcher". That is the name of a German maker of pressure washers which have been used in recent years to spruce up the Brandenburg Gate, the colonnade of St Peter's Square and the presidential faces on Mount Rushmore.
The reaction to his proposal for industrial cleansing from the affected suburbs and the political Left has, predictably, been bad. But he has also been criticised by the equal opportunities minister, Azouz Begag. With the unrest spreading, Mr Sarkozy has cancelled a visit to Pakistan and Afghanistan, the prime minister, Dominique de Villepin, has postponed going to Canada, and President Jacques Chirac yesterday warned that a lack of dialogue and respect could produce a "dangerous situation".
Not since the Corsicans rejected his plans for autonomy in 2003 has the interior minister faced such a setback. How he handles it will affect his chances of succeeding Mr Chirac in 2007. But the three protagonists in this drama - Mr Sarkozy, his rival for future leadership of the Right, Mr de Villepin, and the president - are facing a challenge from which none of them can draw much short-term advantage.
In suburbs such as Clichy-sous-Bois, where the rioting began, they are facing the consequences of decades of flawed integration policies and an economy that has failed to produce enough jobs. The riots have cruelly laid bare the inadequacies of the French model.
Sarkozy is right, however. The rioters are lowlifes who need to be dealt with the severest possible manner.
Er, war is the language of the "right" and appeasement the language of the "left." One is strong, one is weak.
As to damage, we're only in the first quarter of this game. Give it a little time.
Blam, good posts all, BTW...thx.