Certain words do not appear in the stories about violent “youths” in France
The elephant in the room is invisible, according to the IHT, which attributes France’s troubles to lack of job assistance, poor housing, an inadequate education system, racism, bad hair days, overcast skies, and generalized ennui — indeed, anything at all except the real root causes:
EPINAY-SUR-SEINE, France When the call came about a car burglary in this raw suburb north of Paris one night last weekend, three officers in a patrol car rushed over, only to find themselves surrounded by 30 youths in hoods throwing rocks and swinging bats and metal bars.
Neither tear gas nor stun guns stopped the assault. Only when reinforcements arrived did the siege end. One officer was left with broken teeth and in need of 30 stitches to his face.
The attack was rough but not unique. In the past three weeks alone, three similar assaults on the police have occurred in these suburbs that a year ago were aflame with the rage of unemployed, undereducated youths, most of them the offspring of Arab and African immigrants…
Last month, a leaked law enforcement memo warned of a “climate of impunity” in Seine-Saint-Denis, the notorious district north of Paris, where clusters of suburbs like Clichy-sous- Bois and Epinay-sur-Seine are located….In all of France, according to the Ministry of Interior, 480 incidents of violence against the police were recorded in September, a 30 percent increase from the month before.
Perhaps this story and this one will be a little clearer than the non-reporting of the IHT. Perhaps this piece will remind you of why the IHT is writing at all on this subject — it’s an anniversary of a 300-city riot that set Paris suburbs up in flames. As Le Figaro said at the time: “L’islam ne joue pas un rôle déterminant dans la propagation des troubles.” That’s their story, and apparently they’re sticking to it.
UPDATE
A similar unwillingness to face unpleasant matters infects Paul Cruickshank’s piece in the NYT today, in our view.