A Fine Whine

I've lost track of the number of days since the rioting in France began in earnest (since October 27 - so that would be 25 days by my count). We were told over the weekend that the riots had ended and that the rate of cars torched had returned to normal levels. Nothing to see here.

I have noted before that the normal levels are a lie - that the French government said that the normal rate of cars torched before the rioting began October 27 was 20-40 cars a night. Now, the normal rate is 100 cars a night. That doesn't sound like the same figure to me. If I were living in France, I'd be outraged too.

And the targets aren't just cars (and haven't been for nearly 3 weeks). Another person died over the weekend as he was trying to put out a fire started by the rioters:

A high school guard suffered a heart attack and died Monday while trying to extinguish cars set aflame by vandals in the latest unrest in troubled French suburbs, police said.

The guard collapsed southwest of Paris in Trappes, one of about 300 cities and towns that were hit by three weeks of rioting, arson attacks or other violence that shook France earlier this month.

Of course, the riots are going on, but the reasons are now somehow different. Dozens and dozens of cars are being torched nightly. Yet, these people aren't rioting because of the socioeconomic conditions or that they're somehow dispossessed of their inalienable rights to life, liberte, and fraternite, but rather that they are complaining about the Beaujolais Nouveau. It's all about the wine.