Riots in Paris

The riots for the past 10 nights in the Paris suburbs (and now elsewhere in the country) are a blowup of tensions that should have been dealt with long ago and are likely to create more fuel for xenophobes seeking to block immigration into France, and the EU in general. This is a sad development. Had the government put in place programs that encouraged immigrants to assimilate (not losing their culture entirely) via programs that focused on integrating them economically, there would be a much lower likelihood of the kind of riots we see in the poor, immigrant suburbs of Paris. Because there is such a strong dichotomy between being "French" and being "non-French" in terms of opportunities, there is a segregation in society economically that fuels unreast. If there are not opportunities to improve economically, there are often moves towards radicalism of different kinds, whether fascist, communist or radical religious beliefs, all of which cause scenes that we see recurring night after night in France.