You know, Your Survival Guy witnessed some disturbing sights on my recent trip to Paris. And the internet is full of videos and stories of much worse. Perhaps the most tragic moment of the recent rioting in France was the destruction of the beautiful and historic city hall of Limoges. Americans can remember the summer of 2020 when similar rioting and burning hit cities across this country, and countless historic sites were damaged or destroyed.
In The Wall Street Journal, Holman W. Jenkins, Jr. writes that “The first job of government is to provide an orderly and lawful environment for citizens to pursue their aims.” Despite the turmoil in France, Jenkins explains, the country must pull itself together, because all of Europe is at stake if it doesn’t. He continues:
France is too big to fail and also too big to bail out. That leaves only one realistic choice: France pulls itself together or takes Europe down with it.
There really is no other alternative, no matter the winner of next year’s presidential election, likely rightist Marine Le Pen at a time when the French are enraptured by a two-part biopic of Charles de Gaulle, as if recognizing a need to revive a weakly flickering nationalist flame.
There is likely no alternative to self-help except France flaking out of the eurozone, seeing its living standard plummet, and seeing all those nice chateaus and paintings bought up by rich Chinese and Americans.
Action Line: Can France provide an orderly and lawful environment while cutting the services necessary to save its economy? Will rioters and protestors overwhelm any attempt to cut the state down to size? It will be difficult when there appears little appetite to confront the thugs and looters who plague the streets today. Click here to subscribe to my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter.
