Ironically, it’s the kids themselves who grasp the solution for France, which is the slogan parodying the Red-White-Blue! chant that was shouted by fans of France’s multiracial championship team at the World Cup final in 2000: “Beur! Blanc! Noir!”

When the French realize that most of the beurs and noirs want nothing more than to be proud of being French and beur or noir, then France will be on its way toward a solution.

Re affirmative action, it has become a joke in the US—note that its partisans are now clamoring for de facto quotas limiting the share asian-americans entering UC Berkeley, in a state where intermarriage is inexorably rendering ridiculous the notion of discrete racial identities…. What next, partial credit for applicants who are verified quadroons and octoroons?

That said, given how deeply entrenched discrimination is in French hiring practices, and how completely shut out of the power elite are the beurs and noirs, affirmative action may well be essential in certain areas of French hiring—probably in the police force at a minimum, maybe also (quel horreur!) ENA and the Grandes Ecoles.

My vote’s for a new video game called Grand Torch Auto, distributed gratis by the French government.

The problem with this reasoning is that M. Chirac has said some very objectionable things about a great many different groups of people. The vast majority of those groups of people, however, have not reacted by rioting.

In fact, even the current flock (pack? herd?) of rioters are obviously a tiny percentage of the population of which M. Chirac spoke so unkindly—a percentage consisting overwhelmingly of young unemployed males, many of them already involved in crime. Why, if M. Chirac’s insults are the cause of the rioting, are there hardly any middle-aged women rioting in the streets? Oughtn’t they feel at least as insulted as a scattered few of their teenaged sons by Chirac’s remarks?

A simple alternative hypothesis: people riot because they like to riot, and because they have reason to believe that nobody’s going to stop them. Unfortunately, it’s often the case that nobody is going to stop them—especially if it’s widely believed that rioting is a quasi-legitimate response to perceived slights, and therefore ought to be at least somewhat indulged.

In short, Maria, if you want to understand why these riots are taking place, perhaps you might first look in the mirror.

I think part of the riots has to do with this kind of discourse. The “noise and smell” part never ceases to amaze me.

I first listened to this in a CD by a French Arab band (Zebda). This is not a recent situation. It apparently needed a spark to ignite.

…As is America, as a matter of fact. In practice, though, the process of resolving the “race issue” was remarkably similar across the US. I conjecture that Europe will similarly evolve in approximate lockstep—whether at the same pace, I don’t yet know. (I hope it will be faster, and fear that it will be even slower.)

The “major minority group” is actually lots of different groups and only appears as one group through the prism of paranoia about Muslims.

….Again, as with American “Blacks”. Since I was talking about the evolution of majority attitudes to the minority group(s) in question, though, this detail isn’t particularly relevant. In Europe today, as in America in 1965, such subtleties are completely lost on most people.

If the French fix their social welfare system and adopt policies to reduce unemployment and promote social mobility, then the rioters will have won.

LOL. I must offer kudos where kudos is due, Daniel.

Meanwhile, this is beyond priceless at #39

Put it this way—in a year or two or five, after these riots are history, will we see Banlieus that are more or less influenced by conservative Islam? Greater integration? Or beur communities that are even more isolated? Will it be safe for an uncovered woman to walk the streets?

Ohmigod. We’re being menaced by French Islamofascist terrorists … FROM THE FUTURE

A breataking statement since

(1) Europe is lots of different places with lots of different attitudes to ethnic and religious minorities. Hence the French horreur at the communitarisme supposedly adopted by the Brittaniques .

(2) The “major minority group” is actually lots of different groups and only appears as one group through the prism of paranoia about Muslims.

Funny how showing how awful purely utilitarian decision-making could be turns into ‘fantasizing about’.

Personally, I can’t stand basketball, but evidently there are lots of people who prefer it to blogging—that’s why lots of kids play basketball even though Blogger is free.

Likewise, there are evidently a great many youths who prefer terrorizing people and torching vehicles to playing basketball. Offering them free alternatives simply isn’t enough to dissuade them—you need substantial disincentives.