WOULD THAT BE AFTER THE FINAL SOLUTION?:

A French City and Its Underclass Drift Apart: Riots in Toulouse Reveal Gulf Between Officials, Minorities (Daniel Williams, November 13, 2005, Washington Post)

Workers under police escort laid cinder blocks Thursday to seal the charred entrance of a burned-out kindergarten in Reynerie, the most restive neighborhood in Toulouse during France's two-week wave of rioting.

A few miles away, Toulouse Mayor Jean-Luc Moudenc toured a new cultural and social center in Fontaine Lestang, a district of Toulouse untouched by the violence. The pristine building, with wall-size sound systems and special music rooms, was meant, in his words, "to bring city hall closer to the people."

A reporter asked him whether he planned to visit Reynerie in the course of the day, in view of the school firebombing Wednesday night. "No, I visited out there yesterday," the mayor replied.

Actually, he hadn't gone to Reynerie but to Bellefontaine, a nearby gentrifying neighborhood. His assistant mayor for the area, Jean-Pierre Lloret, explained: "We are not going to enter the debate at present. We will not talk under pressure. We must wait until there is total serenity."

Try top keep in mind that these people are French and aren't trying to be funny.

Posted by Orrin Judd at November 13, 2005 8:41 AM