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I should have stopped reading right there.
Mona, it's not the economy. Stupid! - tom
Great article. Mona is at the top of her excellance with this analysis of current france.
In the jungle, at least everyone is equal.
In ultracivilized France, the barbarians are herded into ghettos and kept in their places.
There are, in fact, two issues here. One is the danger of inviting into any country large numbers of Muslims who have no desire to assimilate. The other is the problem of a sclerotic socialist economy which has no rungs at the bottom of its ladder, so that even immigrants of good will will be disaffected.
Put the two together and you have a recipe for disaster.
Is Chirac still taking Saudi 'campaign' money?
If so he took their money so he rides for their brand....
ping
"The French boast of (and American liberals drool over) France's 35-hour workweek."
I like my 40+ hour-a-week job. I particularily like the "+" part when events warrant it. No drooling over Frenchy suppression of productivity here! Then again, I ain't a liberal...
Jean Francois Kerry applauds the actions of the French government.
Two other articles posted on FR in the last few weeks---one about the rate millionaires are leaving France(one a day)because of high taxes. The other about how many research scientists are leaving . So, now I'm wondering--who is going to finance all these new social programs? I think we are going to see exactly what happens when Atlas Shrugs.
I'd be curious to see a poll of freepers...
The primary cause of the rioting in France:
(a) the economic failing of socialism
(b) organized islamic terrorism
(c) racism and segregation
I agree with Charen here, and have two questions.
(1) Didn't the Rodney King riot damage vastly exceed the French riot damage?
(2) If yes, does this mean L.A. has more socialism than France?
Jacques Chirac was more direct, condemning "ultra liberal Anglo-Saxon" economic policies, while also famously boasting that France would anchor a European pole in a "multipolar" world, with American influence vastly reduced. With 300 French cities in flames, French pretensions lie singed and shriveledI hate to say it, but these Islamic idiots did us a big favor, weakening France and making America look good. But that's why we call them "Islamic idiots", and not "careful Islamic strategists".
And French socialists have set the table for the current crisis. Yes, the rioters are all Muslim youths from North Africa and the Middle East. And the racism of French society may fuel the flames to some extent, but the most important factors in this story are economic. The French have accepted wave after wave of immigrants with no prospect of employing them. In the U.S., the unemployment rate among natives and immigrants is the same. Not so in France.Can you imagine trying to explain this idea to the average MSM idiot?
The cars aflame in French cities now underscore the dangers of economic stagnation. The French have imported a small army of socially, culturally and economically estranged young men. These Muslim men would have been difficult to assimilate under the best of circumstances. But in a sclerotic, socialist state, where the prospect of jobs and economic advancement is so remote, the task becomes titanic.This is the last word on this subject.
BTTT
Worth remembering.
Ow, that's gotta smart!