The MSM is missing the big story, which is that the French model of "social protection" failed to eliminate poverty and inequality for millions in France. The dirigste statist model of guaranteed employment, free medical care, and lavish social benefits bred high unemployment, long waits for needed care, and a selfish ethos in which French citizens are only concerned about what's in for them today, the future be damned. Mark Steyn's vignette about a French man concealing his mother's death to continue receiving her benefit check proves the point nicely. Like Russia, France is in a death spiral as a result of socialism and France leaders lack the will to rescue her from it. Islam is a menace to be sure but its not the immediate danger facing the country. Its the very social system French leaders take such pride in that set off last week's explosion, that's in urgent need of fundamental reform. If the French model worked, there should be no unrest in the Paris suburbs. Here the storyline is a graphic refutation of the viability of that model in the sense the pictures convey the reality better than dozens of academic studies. Whether France is willing to reconsider its welfare state depends on the perception the country is at a turning point and somehow, I don't think its near the point where France's leaders have to institute drastic changes to save the country.
(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We're Know We're Dead Wrong.")