by Douglas DeBono, 2006

ARTICLE ORIGINALLY APPEARED AT StandingOrders.BlogSpot.Com, November 06, 2005

Last night, rioters torched close to 1000 cars in Parisian suburbs, and for the first time the rioting moved into Paris proper. The French deployed 2300 additional security personnel, including special operation units.

The rioters did not limit themselves to cars. They went after gymnasiums, nursery schools and ware houses. They distributed gasoline bombs from garages. While the French police took down one of these improvised bomb making factories, one factory does not account for the number of fire bombs.

Apparently, the French policy of integrating Muslim immigrants into French Society has failed miserably. The French Interior Ministry does not appear to have fall back position.

The rioters are predominantly Muslims from North Africa. They do not appear concerned about setting homes and business afire. To date, the French show of force [yes I know France and force is an oxymoron] does not seem to be a credible deterrent.

So has the War on Terror broken out in a major European city? Is France experiencing a watershed, where the specter of street fighting (ala Baghdad) replaces spectacular bombings? If so, we are all in trouble.