"an accident was the pretext for an anti-police hysteria"

It took place 4 weeks ago in Villiers-le-Bel, near Paris.
Well, there was an election this month in the political district where Villiers-le-Bel is located, to find a replacement for the socialist member of parliament D.Strauss-Kahn, who had been appointed as Director of the IMF.

• Results of the first round (December 9) :

Voter Turnout: 25,06% (only 22% in Villiers le Bel)
Socialist Party: 38,83%
UMP (Sarkozy's party): 37,43%
Front National: 7,47% (4% in the last June election)
Communist Party: 6,03%
MoDem: 3,04%

• Result of the run off vote on the following Sunday (December 16) :

Socialist Party: 54,34%
UMP: 45,66%

--
So, are the French waking up?
The answer is no.
Only 7,5 % for the anti-immigration party, two weeks after immigrant youths battled the police and set fire to cars and buildings.

Frodo42: "First off, these bullies are largely 2nd or even 3rd generation immigrants."

It is more likely that they are 0th or 1st generation french citizens, half of them not born in Europe. It would be interesting to have the figures.

The French “youths” seem to be importing some mighty peculiar “hunting rifles” from the Balkans.  It also seems there imports, or at least the police interception of their imports, are up from 177 weapons in 1995 to 5,004 weapons in 2006.

http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0,36-980865,0.html

Better sit down first...

I AGREE WITH YOU.

" In the long run, a cultural shift is needed. "

Why not expulsion/repatriation ?
It is the obvious solution.

While I agree in principle, I'll have to repeat: This is France. The principle of private property is heavily compromised.

People see the social benefits as rights they're born with. Really. We have the same tendency here in Denmark. People don't realize, and do not want to realize, that utilizing the social system takes money away from people who earned them. Or they have no remorse about it.

Later, when chaos and budget deficit escalates, permanent revoking might be a good tool, not least towards repeat offenders. Still, I think the temporary revoking has a much better chance at being implemented. Now, if only Sarkozy would drop by BJ and pick up our ideas :)

Frodo,

While I see your point, I have to disagree that it's simply a cultural issue: it's a moral one. I find it repugnant that the State has to "reward" people from refraining from criminal activity with monetary bribes.

Problem is that self-reliance is a cultural thing. There's a very real risk that these people will descend into mafia activity instead of getting real jobs.

OK, I cannot prove it. Neither can it be proven that revoking welfare permanently works better. It's just my hunch that having a reward dangling at their noses for staying away from the brawls will work. That's the most immediate concern.

In the long run, a cultural shift is needed. That's gonna 'insult Islam', but those making trouble over that are also poised to lose their benefits :)

Money is a secondary reason to revoke benefits.

The main reason is to compel self reliance.

Well, we're talking France here, not some libertarian paradise...

First off, these bullies are largely 2nd or even 3rd generation immigrants. They have citizenship. Revoking welfare benefits for immigrants would make no difference on this situation. It would influence further immigration, of course, which wouldn't be bad, but that's something else.

The main reason I suggest revoking the benefits temporarily (like 6months - or even just the pending payment) is that it gives the rioters a very nice reason to abstain. If you have nothing to lose - well, why not riot on? If abstaining this month will make a difference in next months' money supply, there's a very real reason for each participant to cool off.

While it's tempting to save all the money, I think a more moderate approach brings greater benefit.

Why revoke those benefits temporarily? They should be revoked PERMANENTLY to all immigrants.

Anyone who wants to emigrate to another country should be able to fully support himself without State assistance, PERIOD.

Don't these thugs receive welfare benefits? Revoke them, just temporarily, from all who participate in the riots. I'll wager a carton bottle of prime Flemish beer that it'll work.

You already know how an important part of the muslim crowd in France views Sarkozy, but here is an amusing one from the corrupted fools governing Algeria (link to article in french) :
http://www.lefigaro.fr/international/2007/11/28/01003-20071128ARTFIG00034-algerie-insinuationsantisemites-contre-sarkozy.php
You learn from a high ranking government executive that Sarkozy is.... working for the jewish lobby. The algerian government didn't issue a condemnation of the jerk, proving that the weird conspiracy theories typical of the muslim street are also widespread in the highest level of the algerian regime. Jew hatred is widespread in Algeria, as in much of the arab-muslim world, and it is one of the many common ground between the corrupted elite governing the country and the islamofascists hiding in the mountains. The french arabs living in France share the same cultural backround and upbringing, which explains why they commited hundred of attacks against jews of all ages in France in 2000-20002, prompting the emigration of a sizeable part of the french jews.