Agreed, the welfare state is the cause of the mayhem and not only in the direct sense that you describe. I refer to the corrupt, insane, Common Agricultural Policy, which has done so much to impoverish Africa. The result of French protectionism of its agriculture (and textiles and clothing) has been reluctant immigration into France and the rest of Europe. Reluctant immigration is exactly what nobody wants. But France's insistence on subsidising agriculture, and the gutless politicians in the rest of Europe who've gone along with it, have kept Africans poor and desperate to come to the west. Leaving their culture behind has been their only chance of a half-decent living. We can't expect them to be grateful.

Posted by Ronnie Horesh at November 5, 2005 05:21 PM

I wonder - Is the human race not predisposed to gathering in flocks of "birds of a feather"?

Posted by Ruth Sherwin at November 6, 2005 12:40 PM

"To what extent could the violence be due to alienation and criminalisation in council estates with high proportions of unemployed and never-married lone parents?"



I'd hazard: attibutable to never-married lone parents to no extent at all in this case. The rioting in France is largely the work of young Muslim men. How many do you think were born to unmarried mothers? I think you're overlooking the elephant in the middle of this particular living room.

Posted by Yaffle at November 6, 2005 01:25 PM

Sup thewelfarestatewerein!

I've been thinking. The biggest opposition to ending welfare is that it would cause poverty. Why not give poor people a minimum wage and not tax it and tax those on low incomes less than everyone else? How can you expect anything other than welfare to prevent poverty if people are taxed into the ground?

Posted by Flint Ironstag at November 6, 2005 05:57 PM

The French social model and technocratic architects in the mould of Le Corbusier are certainly part of the problem. Read Theodore Dalrymple's essay, "The Barbarians at the Gates of Paris" for a clear account of what has gone wrong in the world of "La Zone", as these vast estates in France are collectively known. It's in his new book, "Our Culture, What's Left Of It", but he wrote it back in 2002. The riots have been a long time coming, and no one can say they weren't warned, by Dalrymple and anyone who was paying attention. What shocks me is how many people seem pleased that France has as bad/even worse social problems than the UK. When the cities of a great European country are in flames for two weeks, we should all be horrified. But our comfortable lives have blinded us to the fragility of civilisation. Now its breakdown is seen as a source of entertainment, because we assume everything will go back to normal. But why should it? Hobbes said the war of all against all IS normal. To me these riots read like something out of Gibbon. When a disaster like this can have been predicted for years and still have happened, our civilisation is losing the ability to maintain itself.

Posted by Sancho's Ass at November 7, 2005 03:12 PM