Trouble in Paris

Headlines of "Paris is Burning" can be seen near the top of newspapers lately as the city descends into a state of turmoil. The burning, rioting and occasional gunfire of the past two weeks have been catastrophic for the French, raising questions about the status of Muslim immigrants causing much of the disturbance. \nInevitably, the riots invite comparison to other tragedies, including one here in America: the devastation in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. The parallels between the two are overt: Both disasters occurred in historically Francophone cities where a racial minority has been accused of appalling behavior. The major difference, of course, is that the New Orleans debacle began with a natural disaster.\nHurricane Katrina, however, was not the cause of the problems in New Orleans; it merely served as a catalyst. The crisis was caused by a failure of government. Local, state and federal officials failed at reinforcing infrastructure, enforcing an evacuation plan and distributing necessary relief supplies. This forced stranded citizens -- including people of many different ethnic groups -- to resort to desperate measures to survive.\nI'm not condoning the violence and looting that occurred there. Violent behavior is never excusable, but it can be understandable. More timely government action would have prevented much of the disaster.\nWild accusations are being thrown about in Paris as it approaches a fortnight of disturbances. Many blame the riots on a Muslim population, which allegedly refuses to assimilate and wants to force its culture and religion on Europe. Others see these poor immigrants as people who are simply too uncivilized to behave properly. More reasoned minds realize these characterizations are unfair. They absolve the rioters by blaming the problems on racism endemic in French society.\nAll of these views have a grain of truth in them. None, however, fully explain the situation. The real cause of unrest, as in New Orleans, is the government.\nThe immigrant communities where rioting began have unusually high levels of poverty, sometimes as much as 40 percent. This is a direct result of French employment laws. Worker protection rules are so strict that it is impossible to fire workers unless they are grossly incompetent. This is great if you already have a job -- i.e. you're not a recent immigrant to France. But if you are, you're out of luck. Companies are loath to hire new workers, fearful they'll be overburdened during economic downturns. Jobs that should be competitive are instead used as sinecures.\nMuslim immigrants are unable to get decent jobs, even if they are qualified and willing to work hard. Again, this does not excuse the recent violence. But it is understandable that, with ambition but no outlet, some have taken extreme measures.\nThe tragedy of Hurricane Katrina was that government failed to work when it needed to. This is unacceptable, but it happened only after a natural disaster beyond control. \nWe should be thankful we don't live in France. The French government has proven equally incapable of quelling riots in Paris, riots which its own inept policies have caused.