This comes as no surprise. After the 2005 riots there was the usual talk though nothing really changed. On the left, there has been a stubbornness to take any useful action because in the eyes of many (especially the traditional, white elite men who never share power) the French constitution provides equality so to even suggest otherwise or treat any disadvantaged group differently, would go against the constitution. On the right there have been numerous inflammatory public comments that have offered nothing to help bridge the gap.
With such positions it's hard to make any progress on this ongoing problem. Sarkozy used to talk about affirmative action plans and perhaps that will receive renewed interest. In France, affirmative action is considered to be an idea of the right, not the left. It's interesting to see how there is such a different interpretation on this issue. Somehow I doubt the pro-Sarko crowd in America would be in agreement with him. Regardless, something needs to change if France is ever going to start moving on with this problem. It's not going to disappear by throwing police at the problem.
