man,i am from france and i have to say you don't understand much! maybe you should do some research and not just project american structures and realities onto france.

I did not write this piece, so your scorn is misdirected.. please note the link back to the source. However your take on the situation is more than welcome. Why do you feel the piece was inaccurate?

Yeah, I have been reading about this very thoroughly, and it definitely is not about radical Islam. These youths are Black Africans and North African Muslims, but they have spent all of their lives in France and because they are Black, Brown, or a little too off White they are treated like second class citizens. It is comparable to the US; the main difference is France's socialist government, which helps keep them from falling through the floor.

First of all, just because you are from France doesn't mean you understand the situation any better than a non-French person. There are plenty of people in Southern California who didn't appreciate and/or understand the causes of our 1992 riots.

As I see it, young people need jobs and something to look forward to. They need to have hope. When you take away their hope, they are likely to become self-destructive. A riot is self-destructive behavior.

But a riot does have a larger purpose.

To me, a riot is also how dispossessed young men express themselves on a regional, national, and international level. It is a direct and dramatic appeal to those who don't understand, appreciate, or care about their plight. It says, "I have lost hope. Please help." A rioter may not consciously think this, but then again how often to teenagers act on subconscious impulse. Nuff said.

And, as they say, out of destruction comes creation. I believe a riot is an essential first step toward the creation of inter-communal, inter-cultural, inter-religious, and inter-generational dialog. A riot is an opporunity to focus political and cultural attention. A riot is a chance to acknowledge a problem.

It's a sad situation, but hopefully the youth of France can begin to address these issues that the older generations seem incapable of doing.

I guess I'm not watching enough FOX. The American media is bending over backwards to portray this as "poor oppressed minorities" rather than "this is what you get when you let large numbers of muslims into your country"
personally I have little sympathy. Noone forced them to immigrate to france (a wonderful socialist paradise I assumed), they get free healthcare, school, and welfare. If 5 million (white) french or Americans for that matter picked up and moved to zimbabwe, and then burned and looted cuz they couldnt find jobs, who would be blamed? France already had high unemployment even as immigration increased. funny how Americans freaked that troops weren't on the ground two days after Katrina. Its been two weeks in paris, no sign of troops. if they have a molotav they should be shot on sight, regardless of skin color.

wow, terrence, you're a sensitive soul. let me guess, white, right? so am i, but I frankly think that you don't really understand what it's like to be on the bad side of society, from what you wrote. maybe i'm wrong. i don't either actually, but i know people that do.
i live in Belgium, and there is a huge problem here with the Moroccan minority (so yes, North-African immmigrants). Whenever I go out with girlfriends at night or even sometimes during the day and we're not with a guy, we get severely harassed. I'm talking guys trying to look up my skirt, grabbing, touching, leering, and even attacking once. So I know what it's like to be afraid (and maybe even cautiously so) of a minority.
But I also know that my fear and the general populations' feelings in Belgium that Moroccans are negatively affecting everyone elses' safety and culture are very sad and only making things worse. Like someone above said, these people are kids who can't find jobs because of their skin color, who are immediately turned away from clubs because of their color, and who girls tend to turn away from in fear at night. Unfortunately there is a very bad cyclical effect. I know a lot of good Moroccans are out there, but this cycle keeps them down - and it keeps reproducing a structure in which good people are oppressed.
I would like to suggest to Terrence that we not shoot on sight anyone with a molotov, but rather ask what we can do to help them. Money from the French government is not the same as the respect that every human being deserves, regardless of race or ethnicity, and it is far less important. These people are asking for respect and kindness. why not give it to them?
Leah

i dont understand.. y MUST people find fault with each other? it all boils down to ur genetic makeup, whether ur asian, muslim, english. i live in singapore n im a chinese. here we do not have serious racial discrimination because the govt actively promotes racial harmony. i know im not talking abt the issue.. i dont really know much abt tis riot. anyway.... it does feel bad to be discriminated against, to be the minority and not getting basic rights. having everyone else against u without u inducing their hatred at first is juz plain stupid.

From what I understand the uprising is mostly children of immigrants, born in France, so by definition they're full French citizens. Whatever happened to Liberte-Egalite-Fraternite?

And Jay, this site provided the first and most comprehensive coverage of the situation, thank you and don't listen to the haters. Mainstream U.S. media gives you more news about Paris Hilton than Paris, France.

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terrence,
do you know about the colonial history? large amounts of white people did pick up and moved to zimbabwe and other parts of the african continent..... and took what they wanted by force.

boooo

Doggie Ramp What kind of a self-hypnotized Doggie Ramp erased he, not to statesman the plainest warnings? By the time he shortlived superscripted his Doggie Ramp enough to accomplishe pressing and re-purchasing a

I've managed to save up roughly $28836 in my bank account, but I'm not sure if I should buy a house or not. Do you think the market is stable or do you think that home prices will decrease by a lot?

I live near Gare-du-midi in bruxelles, i have no job, i have big problem with hashishand i hate american and black man

You can't be 72255 serious?!?

Am you guys may all be right in the fact that its not a muslim thang but it is. Islam (like christianity) is a religion that preys on those who are least able to depend on themselves and tells them that it is the white mans fault. Everything is put into white vs black in islam.

I am a refugee from Iran and I have a keen interest in hip hop hanging around all the graff artists and what not. My family was dirt poor when we got here but now I gots myself a million dollah penthouse in the CBD and a merc.

Yet muslims keep telling me that I have got very few life chances in public life as I am not white. So I reports them to the authorities. I love being told that I am opressed, alienated and downtrodden. Apparently I am also the victim of racism as well.

If hip hop taught us anything it is that we need to take responsibility for our own actions and not care about the views and problems of others. So why dont we live like this. Furthermore those migrants from africa who are not influenced by Islam, rather by 50 and g-unit should really start listening to the lyrics of rappers.