[rmlew]

Again, the military should have been called in on day 2 if the police were unable to deal with it on day 1.

France is crippled by leftist politics and personal politics. I'm sure that Chirac fears that Marseilles will burn if riot police come in.
PM Villepin and Sarkozy are bitter rivals. Villepin wants Sarkozy to get the blame for inaction and then overaction, while Villepin will look like the moderate voice of reason.

Contrary to what the articles are saying a week-long set of riots is not spontaneous. These were coordinated assualts by Islamists who already controlled "no go areas". I'm sure that criminals and opportunists then joined in.
This is a small scale civil war. Fortunately the Muslims are more mach than intelligent. This stunt should have been pulled 25 or 50 years from now when they can win demographically in France and Europe.

[Dark Skies]

This stunt should have been pulled 25 or 50 years from now when they can win demographically in France and Europe.

Mobs don't behave strategically, they behave intuitively. Islam is a mob...it behaves according to the spirit of Mohammed and Allah.

"There is a vacuum in leadership in France...let's fill it." Laws of nature. Laws of physics.

Europe created the vacuum...now they must deal with what fills it.