French Law Enforcement

I was watching Brit Hume this evening, and a Fox report on the Muslim riots in Paris noted that, in spite of the arson and mayhem, there were reports only of minor injuries. The reporter attributed this to the French reluctance to use force against the insurgents ("insurgents" being my word, not theirs). All I could think was, "If the French had been willing to apply a little force against these thugs, there might have been some injuries, but the riots might not have lasted eight freaking days with no end in sight."

Along the same line, Ace has this pithy observation:

Once upon a time Beirut was called the Paris of the Middle East.

Now Paris is Beirut on the Seine.