# The fucking stupid fuck French **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 5, 2005, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fucking-stupid-fuck-french/329577 "2005-11-05T00:13:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fucking-stupid-fuck-french/329577/41 "2005-11-05T04:16:50Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > BTW thanks to Biggirl for a very relevant answer. This is France’s Watts. It doesn’t take that much provocation to send a marginalized community over the brink, and if the population/area is large enough it’s not a simple matter to stabilize the situation. I may be mis-remembering here, but I think Watts was an order of magnitude worse than this…so I don’t think the comparison is quite fair to the French. For one thing, afaik, no one has died in France yet due to the riots. And while Watts was confined pretty much to South LA, IIRC there were hundreds of buildings and cars burned…and that whole death thing (hundreds if memory serves). I don’t think these riots come anywhere close. Of course, Watts happened in '65 and these are happening today, so I suppose one could extrapolate what a similar riot today would look like in the US. -XT ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fucking-stupid-fuck-french/329577/42 "2005-11-05T04:26:14Z")
> [@yojimbo](#): > > Wow. You really are clueless about French politics. Look, if Chirac is conservative then Bush is a Commie. So, unless you care to elaborate… ---
**Author:** ![fushj00mang](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/d26b3c/32.png) [@fushj00mang](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fushj00mang)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fucking-stupid-fuck-french/329577/43 "2005-11-05T04:26:43Z")
> [@FinnAgain](#): > > What’re they supposed to do? Since nobody has addressed this answer…how’sabout issuing an order stating that anyone out after 8pm gets shot? Then sweeping the streets? Too harsh? How about instead using the round that the Brits used back in the 60’s in Ulster? You know, the 40mm oak baton fired from an M79 grenade launcher? The one that would break a half dozen legs before stopping? I have an old (and for 50 years now, unused) M1A4 man portable flamethrower which I’m willing to donate. All the French government has to do is fax me a copy of it’s C&R, and I’ll have it in the mail tomorrow. Aparently the islamo-facists in France didn’t get the memo about Liberty, Fraternity, Property. ~Mang, strong supporter of all things martial ---
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 5:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fucking-stupid-fuck-french/329577/44 "2005-11-05T05:23:33Z")
> [@](#): > > **fushj00mang** : …how’sabout issuing an order stating that anyone out after 8pm gets shot? Then sweeping the streets? Too harsh? How about instead using the round that the Brits used back in the 60’s in Ulster? You know, the 40mm oak baton fired from an M79 grenade launcher? The one that would break a half dozen legs before stopping? Use of such techniques can now be abreviated to the _Freedom Is on the March Option._ or FOMO. We will get the idea. Are these riots connected at all to the burning of hotels filled with Muslim and/or African immigrants in Paris over the last few months? ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fucking-stupid-fuck-french/329577/45 "2005-11-05T05:28:13Z")
> [@Zoe](#): > > Are these riots connected at all to the burning of hotels filled with Muslim and/or African immigrants in Paris over the last few months? Yikes. I’d not heard anything about that, and a very cursory google search turns up only some hits about Ivory Coast. You wouldn’t have a cite, would you? ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fucking-stupid-fuck-french/329577/46 "2005-11-05T05:32:47Z")
> [@Zoe](#): > > Are these riots connected at all to the burning of hotels filled with Muslim and/or African immigrants in Paris over the last few months? I don’t think anyone’s made a direct connection, but I wouldn’t be surprised if those events are adding to the frustration of many of the immigrant folks. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fucking-stupid-fuck-french/329577/47 "2005-11-05T05:38:06Z")
[April 15, 2005 fire in hotel housing immigrants](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4447001.stm) [Two fires in August](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4196080.stm) [September 5, 2005 – arson suspected](http://smh.com.au/news/world/arson-blamed-as-new-paris-fire-kills-15/2005/09/05/1125772438326.html?oneclick=true) ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_fun_ball/32/17664_2.png) [@Happy\_Fun\_Ball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Fun_Ball)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fucking-stupid-fuck-french/329577/48 "2005-11-05T05:41:14Z")
> [@Martin Hyde](#): > > Of course you know the French government have long been the darlings of the liberals here in America, so I’m not really sure there is any basis to the comment earlier in this thread. How about a cite for this… In my not so humble opinon the liberals here in America have the same opinion of France that they have of continental Europe in general; about the same opinion as that held by the Republicans. But because France pissed off the Republicans enough that they renamed fucking Freedom Fries for Christ sakes, they are now trying to tie France to the liberal democrats… Just another made up example of how bad, un-American and Christian hating we Democrats are. _“Those stupid democrats, they should all move to France they love them so much… Not us, we stand for Freedom and we kiss with our mouth closed.”_ ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fucking-stupid-fuck-french/329577/49 "2005-11-05T05:43:02Z")
Thanks **ETF** , maybe I should’ve added ‘arson’ to my google terms. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fucking-stupid-fuck-french/329577/50 "2005-11-05T05:47:47Z")
> [@asterion](#): > > Look, if Chirac is conservative then Bush is a Commie. So, unless you care to elaborate… Tell you what. You name a more right wing **electable** \* French politician and I will elaborate on why he is conservative\*\* \*I know a lot of French people who held their nose and voted against Le Pen not for Chirac \*\* From a French perspective not a US one ---
**Author:** ![The\_Long\_Road](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5a626/32.png) [@The\_Long\_Road](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Long_Road)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fucking-stupid-fuck-french/329577/51 "2005-11-05T05:53:49Z")
> [@Operation Ripper](#): > > WTF is going on over there? How the fuck can RIOTS go on for weeks? How can a nation function when it can’t do shiite to stop a bunch of punk kids from torching cars FOR WEEKS? FOR WEEKS I SAY! What has become of France? :mad: Maybe Michael Brown tranferred from FEMA to the French Riot Control Department. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fucking-stupid-fuck-french/329577/52 "2005-11-05T05:55:07Z")
I don’t know and I don’t really care about French politicans. How about elaborating on how Chirac is a conservative from a European perspective? ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fucking-stupid-fuck-french/329577/53 "2005-11-05T06:11:48Z")
> [@magellan01](#): > > Fiiiiiiiiinally! Someone admits that this is a liberal message board. Thank you. > > Proceed. Nope, merely an intelligent one. ---
**Author:** ![Operation\_Ripper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/34f0e0/32.png) [@Operation\_Ripper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Operation_Ripper)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fucking-stupid-fuck-french/329577/54 "2005-11-05T06:43:58Z")
> [@The Long Road](#): > > Maybe Michael Brown tranferred from FEMA to the French Riot Control Department. hehehe 😃 ---
**Author:** ![furt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/439d5e/32.png) [@furt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furt)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fucking-stupid-fuck-french/329577/55 "2005-11-05T06:47:52Z")
> [@yojimbo](#): > > Tell you what. You name a more right wing **electable** \* French politician and I will elaborate on why he is conservative But isn’t that rather the point? Many on these boards are quite eager to point out that Europe as a whole is much to the left of the US, such that an American liberal would be quite moderate in Europe; the purpose of mentioning this is usually to argue that American conservatives are wacky, kooky extremists. It’s a touch simplistic, but the point is accurate as far as it goes. In that light, it’s a bit absurd to then call Chirac a “conservative” as if his domestic policies were in any way similar to “conservatives” here in the US. The reality is that a truly “conservative” (in the American sense) administration _is_ unelectable in France and has been for ages – which is _why_ blaming “conservatism” is idiotic. Not, BTW, that I think you can blame “liberalism” per se, either. As usual, brainless ideological partisanship is a stupid way of approaching the topic. ---
**Author:** ![yojimbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yojimbo/32/232_2.png) [@yojimbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yojimbo)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fucking-stupid-fuck-french/329577/56 "2005-11-05T07:22:18Z")
I completely agree **furt**. My point was that **asterion** seemed to me to be talking about the US idea of what a conservative is and not a French one. My Euro idea of the term conservative is to be right of center within your countries definition of what that means. In Ireland we have a right of center gov. at the moment\* but our political center involves a lot more State aid to the poor, medical benefits, State and semi-State companies etc. than the US model, as do the vast majority of European countries. To describe Chirac as anything but Conservative from a French perspective means that you don’t know what you’re talking about. It is something that I shouldn’t need to prove IMO to **asterion** as s/he seemed to know something about it when s/he said > [@](#): > > Since when is Chirac conservative? - We always have because of our local politics. When we got our independence the right wing nationalist party that controlled 90+% of the vote fractured into two fractions and fought a Civil War. Afterwards the same two right wing divisions became the main parties in the country. Only relatively recently did left wing parties enter the fold and still to this day their best hope is to be a minor party in a coalition. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fucking-stupid-fuck-french/329577/57 "2005-11-05T10:04:34Z")
> [@asterion](#): > > Since when is Chirac conservative? He’s conservative by the French definition. He’d be on the left of the Democrat party in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Fortean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/96bed5/32.png) [@Fortean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fortean)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fucking-stupid-fuck-french/329577/58 "2005-11-05T10:29:38Z")
It goes without saying that the OP is fucking insulting. Anyway, people have already explained what’s going on. As to why the French authorities haven’t done anything, perhaps they think that a gung-ho sweep the streets option would only make it worse? At some point, the riots are going to run out of steam. Meantime, I hope Chirac et al realise that all that La Belle France nonsense isn’t making immigrants feel any more welcome. (Although in some ways, there’s nothing more traditional and patriotic than riots in Paris - perhaps someone should make a musical out of it.) Anyway, it’s not only the French who’ve had problems with rioting: [http://www.bbc.co.uk/caribbean/news/story/2005/10/printable/051025\_birmingham.shtml](http://www.bbc.co.uk/caribbean/news/story/2005/10/printable/051025_birmingham.shtml) ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 11:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fucking-stupid-fuck-french/329577/59 "2005-11-05T11:27:17Z")
> [@asterion](#): > > I don’t know and I don’t really care about French politicans. Are you Bush in asterion clothing? He doesn’t seem to know or care about politics or politicians anywhere else. How can you not care about what is happening in the world around you? Obviously you can’t change it or influence it but how can you say that you don’t care? I can’t change anything in France, just like I couldn’t change anything in New Orleans, just like I can’t change anything in Iraq but I am bloody interested and I care. I care because the animosity on the streets of Paris has legs, legs that will make that animosity spread. The way that the French govt addresses their issues is up to them BUT it does affect the rest of us. To say you don’t care is scary. Saddam proved that it is scary to not care what the rest of the world thinks. Bush showed it is not a good thing. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [November 5, 2005, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fucking-stupid-fuck-french/329577/60 "2005-11-05T15:53:11Z")
> [@This Year's Model](#): > > They did what they could to stop the U.S. and the U.K. from embarking on a fool’s errand. I do appreciate that. > > You did note that they stood beside us in Afghanistan, didn’t you? No, I didn’t. Because I was simply repsonding to the claim you had made regarding France and Iraq. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fucking-stupid-fuck-french/329577.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-fucking-stupid-fuck-french/329577.md?page=4)