"...and four synagogues and Jewish schools have been firebombed, despite Jewish media reports that Jews are not being targeted more than others..."
Yes, Chirac was quick to demand an investigation into this torched mosque but could give a damn about synagogues or churches...
For the past few years, beginning with the Palestinian Intifada in 9/2000, violent attacks against Jews and Jewish sites in France reached the highest levels since before WW2. The perps were Muslim youth. This was denied and ignored by French authorities and politicians for several years. Finally when there was some action on the part of police and politicians, after Chirac was re-elected, the judges meted out only mild sentences to the perps.
Things got so bad even the EU took note. They commissioned a study of anti-Semitism in 2003, the first on anti-Semitism, though there have been several on Islamaphobia. When the results showed large increases and that the perps were young Muslims they supressed the report refusing to publish it although copies were circulated on the internet. They tried to distort the findings and pin the increase on the far right nationalist elements.
IMO the current riots are an extension of that empowerment of Muslim violence. The riots began in Clichy-sous-bois where the Synagogue was repeatedly attacked by arson (2001 and 2002) and Jews have been repeatedly attacked.
http://www.americanthinker.com/articles.php?article_id=3602
http://www.tau.ac.il/Anti-Semitism/asw2003-4/france.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/2892125.stm
http://www.jcpa.org/phas/phas-26.htm
http://www.factsofisrael.com/blog/archives/000173.html
http://www.jewishledger.com/articles/2004/05/05/news/news07.txt
http://www.juf.org/news_public_affairs/article.asp?key=4104