Dr. Walid Faris was on Laura Ingraham's radio show this am.
He says that's exactly what the moslem leaders want, then it will be turned into another Gaza situation, no police etc. to monitor what's going on inside. (Of course, the police already do not enter these neighborhoods, apparently.)
I could not agree more. These riots are not random acts of rage, but have taken on a decidedly political aim, which is nothing less than a kind of Hamas-style independence from French authority in these areas. The evidence that this is being born out can be seen if one examines the fatwa (quoted by CNN at http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/europe/11/06/france.riots.fatwa.reut/index.html) issued by the Union of French Islamic Organizations:
"It is formally forbidden to any Muslim seeking divine grace and satisfaction to participate in any action that blindly hits private or public property or could constitute an attack on someone's life," the fatwa said. "Contributing to such exactions is an illicit act," declared the edict, which said it was applicable to "any Muslim living in France, whether a citizen or a guest of France."
Freeper coconutt2000 makes the telling observation that the key word here is "blindly." That is, if young Muslims are receiving direction in their attacks, preferably from radical clerics, the fatwa does not apply. In other words, the fatwa is decidedly not an attempt to calm the situation, but is rather an attempt by French Islamists to take control of the violence and direct it to their own ends.
Yes, I think their objective, for the moment, is a sort of Gaza situation.
That said, I don't think they started out as very organized or with the Gaza objective in mind, but judging from the fragmentary reports we get, it seems as if this idea is now moving to the fore and they are demanding the resignation of Sarkozy and the establishment of their own Muslim "territories." I think the riots happened because a bunch of bored troublemakers saw an excuse for some action, and now are being encouraged by both internal and external forces and used to further an ideological agenda.