Two weeks of rioting have raised serious questions for France. The escalating violence has forced the French to acknowledge the widening gap between their image of French society and the reality of the lives of many of its newest citizens. The temptation to dismiss the violence as a superficial phenomenon -- adolescent angst or the work of foreign agitators -- must be resisted. Worse, the recent violence may herald problems that will be faced by other developed countries in the near future.
Rioting began Oct. 27 in a town northwest of Paris, after two Muslim teenagers were electrocuted in a power substation where they were hiding after allegedly being chased by police -- a charge that police officials say is untrue. Other youths took to the streets, first to protest the deaths, then to demonstrate their grievances over what they perceive as racism, abuse of power by the police, and the bleak economic prospects for immigrant and minority youth.
In the two weeks since the deaths, the violence has spread nationwide to more than 300 towns and villages, including some of France's largest cities. It is reminiscent of the unrest that rocked France -- and much of the Western world -- in 1968.