Paris is burning

For up to date information on the Riots in France and now Germany and Belgium stay tuned to Little Green Footballs. They are updating consistently. Apparently the riots are born from social unrest and bad economical conditions. At least that's what the line from the press is. Which makes sense, you immigrate to a country which protrays itself as progressive, open and tolerant. But when you arrive there is no work or money. And while you are tolerated and efforts are made to "understand" you, you are still regarded as second class because you aren't French (an attituded not relegated to Muslims or immigrants).

I guess it was only a matter of time. Indeed Mark Steyn is saying I told you so:

Ever since 9/11, I've been gloomily predicting the European powder keg's about to go up. ''By 2010 we'll be watching burning buildings, street riots and assassinations on the news every night,'' I wrote in Canada's Western Standard back in February.

Silly me. The Eurabian civil war appears to have started some years ahead of my optimistic schedule. As Thursday's edition of the Guardian reported in London: ''French youths fired at police and burned over 300 cars last night as towns around Paris experienced their worst night of violence in a week of urban unrest.''

''French youths,'' huh? You mean Pierre and Jacques and Marcel and Alphonse? Granted that most of the "youths" are technically citizens of the French Republic, it doesn't take much time in les banlieus of Paris to discover that the rioters do not think of their primary identity as ''French'': They're young men from North Africa growing ever more estranged from the broader community with each passing year and wedded ever more intensely to an assertive Muslim identity more implacable than anything you're likely to find in the Middle East. After four somnolent years, it turns out finally that there really is an explosive ''Arab street,'' but it's in Clichy-sous-Bois.

Chirac has promised to restore order and law.......well I know if I was a rioter I'd be scared.....probably......well it'd make me consider really hard being scared.

We'll see what happens, I think we're on day 13 or 14 and the violence is spreading.