France is paying the price...

While I lived in Paris, I grew to know quite a few people. Some where high-class airline CEO's, others were poor and downtroden.

The beauty of the city is alive with the art and churches. The vibrance of youth is evident as thousands of best-of-the-best flood into the Supereor Normal, Universite Paris, H-E-C, and of course, the Sorbonne...

I worked at the U de Paris 7 - Jussieu(gratis), worked in advertisements, played music at the night clubs, went to class at the Sorbonne, just whatever seemed to come up. It was an incredible experience.

I met folks from every french (ex)colony... Morocco, Reunion, Algiers, even other places such as Greece, Russia and Lithuania, etc...

It's no place to live, though. The number of times people attempted to take advantage of me (you name it, they tried it) was on the order of DAILY. Sometimes you exacted a lower wage - which I could accept as part of being a foreigner. However, the scheisters, predators, and con-men is astronomical.

It seems to permeate all classes of society, from Chemisty professors, to professional photographers (No, not those kind.. this guy was a 10 year student of Ansel Adams), students, you name it. Even my landlord!

To say that France has lost it's moral compass would be unfair, as I know MANY outstanding people. But it wouldn't be unfair to say that a great many are far, far away from any morality you and I would ascribe to.

To be brutally honest, there's a lot of racism there - even printed in news papers. Sure, it's veiled speech, but beyond a doubt it exists - especially in the little pamphlets you find strewn at subway stations. My Algerian friends spoke of the horror of escaping from a country where maurading warriors beheaded their teachers in CLASS only to escape to a place where the only line of work was drug trafficing. My friend Moroc told me he just wanted to be a street sweeper, but that he was chased away from the employment office by union guys.

To be sure, I was never mugged or beaten up.. but I dressed in an overcoat and wore steel tipped boots. I looked poor, cut my hair with a razor, and avoided speaking English.

So, it comes as no surprise that the great masses of immigrants are revolting. No jobs, bad education, and no future leads the hopeless to violence. For years, the political answer was to ship them to the country side into huge apartments, the thought being that integration on every level would overcome the differences.

But the France we see idealized in movies is far from reality. The "other" communities in France have no wish to integrate into French society, such as it is. From their point of view, the moral decadence is unapproachable, and I would agree from my own experience.

I've seen military grade weaponry from guns, grenades to RPG's. I've seen massive mobs roaming the streets lighting cars on fire and burning down buildings. I've seen subway "accidents" almost first hand. I've experienced the big brother of cameras everywhere.

I've seen the standing buses of military troops in full body armor, waiting 24x7 for the next riot - they park in front of the National Assembly.

Perhaps France can find a solution, but it's going to be painful either way. The way things are looking, the sixth republic will be largely muslem.