French Rioting Spreads

After six days of rioting in the Parisian surburbs, the violence is spreading outwards. It's not pretty, and the French government had better take strong action to stop it. I fear that they not only don't have the stomach to do what must be done, but that they're cowed by a largely young Muslim population that refuses to integrate with the rest of society, and whose leaders call for jihad and violence against non-Muslims.

"The law must be applied firmly and in a spirit of dialogue and respect," Chirac told a Cabinet meeting Wednesday. "The absence of dialogue and an escalation of a lack of respect will lead to a dangerous situation."

"Zones without law cannot exist in the republic," Chirac said. His remarks were passed on to reporters by government spokesman Jean-Francois Cope.

The spokesman said Chirac acknowledged the "profound frustrations" of troubled neighborhoods but said violence was not the answer and that efforts must be stepped up to combat it, The Associated Press reported.

The unrest, triggered last week by the deaths of two teenagers, spread Tuesday night to at least nine towns in the suburbs north and northeast of Paris as police clashed with angry youths and dozens of vehicles were set on fire.

One of the worst-hit suburbs was Aulnay-sous-Bois, where 15 cars were torched and police in riot gear fired tear gas and rubber bullets at gangs of angry youths who threw stones at a firehouse and lobbed Molotov cocktails at a town hall annex, AP reported.

And, as I noted last night, this violence had been simmering in the Parisian surburbs since the beginning of the year if the Interior Minister Sarkozy is to be believed. 9000 police cars stoned, and 20-40 cars torched nightly. I don't think the French government has a clue as to what is really going on, and the media isn't exactly spelling it out either.

The hooligans and people involved in spreading the violence are Muslim immigrants from Africa. The latest violence is being conducted under the pretext of two teenagers being electrocuted at a power substation, but the violence has been ongoing as I indicated above.

Tim Blair is keeping a scorecard. Meanwhile, the New York Times online is disinclined to cover this huge story. You'd think rioting on the scale we're seeing would be front page news of the 'paper of record,' but you'd be wrong. This is Day Six of widespread violence and the story merits only a below the fold mention in the International section. I guess rioting by Muslim youths that would roll Watts, South Central, Detroit, and Newark into one doesn't garner the attention that political parlour tricks in the Senate does. In the grand scheme of things, I fear the rioting will have the most significant consequences, not only for France, but all of Europe and the world at large.

UPDATE:
Too Late. Rioting has been underway in Denmark for the past several days. Don't say that you haven't been warned. Actually, you can say that you weren't warned because the mainstream media has been oblivious to this situation and refuses to call out those who are perpetrating the violence - Muslim teens and young men. Via: Viking Observer.

UPDATE:
Jay Tea at Wizbang notices how you have to dig through the media to find any mention of the Paris (and now Denmark) rioting, which has been going on for days. Curious that the media is silent on the matter.

UPDATE:
Cross posted at: Don Surber, Stop the ACLU, Basil's Blog, and GM's Corner. And The Political Teen.