... to think that the French government could have supported or helped us in Iraq. From Reuters:

Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin was to meet police on Sunday afternoon and teachers from tough neighbourhoods to discuss how to respond to youths who have defied all appeals for calm from top officials and exasperated residents.

and this:

"Villepin has consulted widely but has released no details to date of a promised action plan for 750 tough neighbourhoods.

"I'll make proposals as early as this week," the weekly Journal du Dimanche quoted him as saying."

Promises, promises. In none of the reports I have seen has there been a single reference to a curfew, something I would have expected by at least Day 3. (Googling "curfew" in the news section brings up nothing on the first page outside India and the US.) The average Joes and Josephines in these riot torn areas have resorted to begging the rioters to stop, which says something about their opinion of success in appealing to the government to quell the disturbances.

It almost makes you wonder how much the rioters are paying in bribes.

Update: This blurb:

"Seven police helicopters buzzed over the Paris region through the night, filming disturbances and directing mobile squads to incidents. Police made 349 arrests and an extra 2,300 officers have been drafted in."

in the same article piqued my interest and I wondered how big the Paris police force actually is. Doing some googling hasn't uncovered it yet but I did run across this blurb in a Detroit Free Press article relating to the 2000 New Year's Eve celebration:

"The entire Paris police force and borrowed riot troops -- 24,000 in all -- were out to keep the millions of revelers safe. And because it was Paris, food and drink prevailed."