Quote:
Harsh... but fair.

Mmm, it must have occurred to both Sarkozy and the rioters that Paris has a long and noble history of deposing hated governments, or at least hated government ministers, by rioting in the streets. A Bluffer's Guide To Paris starts its history section with the great line "Paris has a long and wonderful history, unwinding quite slowly, at a rate of about three revolutions per century", and makes the point that one reason Haussmann's Paris is so beautiful is that the boulevards were deliberately made wide enough to charge cavalry down, and too wide to barricade.

Peter