Why Paris is burning -- a Mother Jones commentary

While unusual in their scope, the riots are in not unprecedented. A similar “intifada of the cities” broke out fifteen years ago in response to the same conditions in the banlieues, or suburban ghettos, where a lack of educational and employment opportunities, and dismal housing conditions created, in the words of then Paris Mayor Jacques Chirac, a “reign of soft terror” that left young people with little choice but “to revolt.”

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Now that he's President, Chirac can no longer speak of the terror caused by government policies and societal neglect. Instead he argues that "the Republic is completely determined to be stronger than those who want to sow violence or fear." Similarly, Prime Minister de Villepin argues that “order and justice will be the final word in our country.”

What both men cannot acknowledge is that in the banlieues, the “Republic” can be the very source of the violence and fear its leaders are now trying to overcome. As Chirac once understood, the young rioters cannot be blamed for concluding that when “justice” and “order” are incompatible, the only way to achieve the former is to bring disorder to the Republic as a whole. Indeed, after a week and a half of violence the government decided to “restore” and even increase funds for much-needed reconstruction, education and similar projects.