Just finished reading that article then came here and read your comment. Ticks me off how the Euroweenies always like to throw in some smart ass remark about "cowboys". We all know who and what they are referring to when they make those comments. I just don't think they realize that the majority of Americans, and even a large part of the world, admire the "cowboy" approach to things and it some ways I think they would like to emulate the philosophy of the old days of the West. When they make references to it, I see it as a compliment, not a derogatory term. From what I read in the article, the local govt. SHOULD go in like cowboys, shoot the place up and when the dust settles, see how many of those anarchists want to put up resistance. These folks they are writing about just don't understand the rule of order in civilized society. I too, like Denny, would like to hear from folks that are living in that area, what they're take is on the situation as it stands now. Be prepared, I expect to see words like tolerance, understanding, peaceful, and a few other liberal -isms to permeat the thread.

Maybe Prince Charles can shed some light on the subject, he's coming here to enlighten the president and the American people on the virtues of being Muslim, France is just manefesting it's destiny.

--"We need to act at the same time on prevention, repression, education, housing, jobs ... and not play the cowboy."--

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought that's what they have been doing.

They've been shoving it down our throats for years how they're the caring ones, they have the safety net, the kinder, gentler European way, yada, yada, yada, and look at what the ingrates do.

Can't wait to see how they're going to repress them.

Look at the ethnic demographic of the people rioting....hmmmmm....

I am shocked they fired tear gas into a mosque. They should have used high explosive.

As the old saying goes: "The chickens have come home to roost". Soon the signs at Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris will say "Bienvenue vers la République populaire islamique de la France" ("Welcome to the Islamic People's Republic of France"), and Pierce and Prosper will be requesting asylum in the U.S.A.

BTW, Anyone see where that inbred homo Prince Charles is coming here later this week with his horse-faced "wife" Camilla to tell President Bush that we Americans need to be more tolerant of muslims? Yeah sure- so we can have all the problems the Brits and the frogs with their people who believe in the "religion of peace". Fuck you Chuckie...

Indeed there are problems with poor suburbs in france too. It's a fact that average income is lower for immigrants , and that a majority of immigrants in france are muslims. So, do the math...
But listen carefully, you will hear more and more stories like this in the next two years : Sarkosy, our ministery of interior (the one who lead the police forces) is an hawk who run for the next presidential elections. He is our most trusted politician to solve the problems of insecurity, and he will try to emphasize those. Chirac did the same in 2002, and instead of the usual debate between right and left, we had a debate between right and far right. And Chirac won with 82%...

oh, by the way, the pronostic of Rob "Adoplh-Benito" Cooper of an Islamic Republic of France was the Jean Marie LePen's slogan in past elections. Coincidence? No, racists of all country have the same brain size problem.

"Jean Marie LePen"-Don't know who he is, but what one person (Prosper) refers to as a racist, others might see as a realist. That's the difference between liberals and conservatives. We are more realistic and don't really worry about offending some group because it's the politically incorrect thing to do.

The idea that anyone considers Chirac to be on the right is just hilarious.

Well, he's to the right of Genghis, I guess.

To all you French frogs & sympathizers......Do not worry about America & how we respond to our problems, you have enough to worry about at home in France. If you spent more time addressing the problems you face & mind your own business when it comes to us...... we would not have to bail your sorry asses out periodically. As to the coming acceleration for the incidence of civil unrest in your totally screwed up country (rioting, looting & racial/religious fighting), I offer the following advice as to how to safeguard your money & precious valuables. Hide them under a bar of soap or behind a deoderant bottle... an ethnic french crook regardless of religious affiliation won`t go near either. Just trying to be helpful!

How is it the government's fault that these two idjits were electrocuted? They broke in to the substation on their own volition, didn't they? No government orders to do so, right?

Prosper said "Chirac did the same in 2002, and instead of the usual debate between right and left, we had a debate between right and far right. And Chirac won with 82%..."

Chirac is on the right? I'd hate to see who is on the left. Satan? Prosper; I think you are seeing the beginning of what we have been telling you since you ventured onto this blog. A large number of the Muslim culture is not encouraged to assimilate to the place where they live i.e. France or Germany. They don’t feel like they are part of it because it’s not a mirror image of where they left. Tough shit, it’s not. Move on or adjust.

We have some 12 million Muslims living and working in the US. It is just another religion as far as I’m concerned. I wish the Muslim/Americans would take a more active role in the war on terrorism, but aside from that there isn't much trouble from them. They have their lives, have businesses and homes like everyone else.

However, the Muslims in France seem to feel disenfranchised no matter where they go or what your country does for them. So stop doing stuff for them. Tell them you’re in France now, You can honor your culture but don’t expect everyone to set aside theirs to accommodate yours. I’m reading about Cyrus the Great. A Persian king who was one of the first known leader to speak up for religious tolerance. Imagine that, a Persian king! He is even mentioned in the Bible and called an “anointed one”

Immigration has been and still is a double edged sword. Most countries do better economically with a reasonable amount of immigration. As long as it's legal, I'm all for it. I'm the descendant of Irish immigrants. They had their struggle too, but they assimilated to America and are now part of its culture. The one culture that is American. Not multi-cultural Bullshit.

As for the people who live here or in France and still feel like outsiders.
There's a saying in the US. "No matter where you go ...there you are!" The adjustments that immigrants have to make to their new surroundings has to be on the part of the individual who lives in the new surroundings or country. If they don't like it in France, Germany or the US, go back to where they came from. They left their homeland for a reason, probably because they figured that they would have a better life somewhere else. Maybe they need to return to their previous homeland so they can be reminded of what and why they left in the first place. In other words, to their new surroundings,”Love it or Leave it." It’s a cliché but still true. If there are changes that need to be made in their new surroundings, make the changes legally. Not by rioting, burning, looting, hurting or killing.

This is not racism, it’s realism

Cheers

I globally agree with scaryguy. But just a few young muslims don't want to assimilate to our culture and i think that they just have to leave...
But you're dreaming when you talk about american culture instead of multi-cultural "bullshit"... During riots in LA, wasn't there fight between blacks and Koreans ? You really think they all felt american ? In France, we promote french secularism : no religious signs in school. Its our way to achieve our melting pot. Of course, we're not sure to succeed.

And yes Chirac is on the right. Wake up, you're the only country where communist party was forbidden. In south America, in Europe and of course in Asia (Russia or China) the middle of the political chessboard is on your left. The idea that you think Chirac is on the left side, and so more on the left must be Satan reinforce the caricature of the american religious righty extremist...

Prosper said "But you're dreaming when you talk about american culture instead of multi-cultural "bullshit"... During riots in LA, wasn't there fight between blacks and Koreans ? You really think they all felt american ? In France, we promote french secularism : no religious signs in school. Its our way to achieve our melting pot. Of course, we're not sure to succeed."
For the first 2 hours, the riots was about Rodney King, after it was about looting, beating and killing anyone who wasn't black. I guess your media news left that part out. In fact, Blacks who owned business got looted even though they had signs stating so. They just didn't catch a beating as everyone else whoe couldn't out run or fight them. The ARMED Koreans (Important Point Here, Prosper) who didn't fight back got beat and killed. I was stationed in Southern California during that time.
The mostly Black went nuts, and that is what really happened. Look it up on the internet from multiple sources. This did not make the Black community look good.

Prosper said "And yes Chirac is on the right. Wake up, you're the only country where communist party was forbidden. In south America, in Europe and of course in Asia (Russia or China) the middle of the political chessboard is on your left. The idea that you think Chirac is on the left side, and so more on the left must be Satan reinforce the caricature of the american religious righty extremist"...
We have a communist party here, you need to look at a US general election ballot. Except the Florida one, no one can figure those out:-)
I don't know anyone that has voted for the commie party though. They have socialist party and labor parties, But they are no party because not enough people are dumb enuff to vote for them. We shipped those dumb people to France.
Prosper said "Its our way to achieve our melting pot".......Looks like you melting pot boiled over. BWAHAHAHAHAHAAHa.

Scaryguy, yes we do indeed have a communist party here in the USA. They are such a marginalized fringe though that they chose to infiltrate the democrats, and so far, most of the sheeple are too dumb to realize that the party of the people aint about the people anymore. The switch happened in the 70's when Jimmah was idiot #1. Thinking dems got up and bailed. They are popularly known as Reagan dems. They form the moderate wing of the republican party now, and have brought about some of the change in the republican party that have fueled it to its present state of prominence. The dems had a huge void that was filled by the communists who knew they would never come to power in the USA under the banner of socialism. They know that the remaining dems were the sheeple, the ones who vote a party not a platform.
Strange as it seems, Chirac is indeed a conservative. His brand of conservatism is about France, and European unity. He favors lower taxes, is tough on crime, Privatization of business, strong parallels to conservatives here in the USA.

Scaryguy and Ray,
Trying to use logic on Prosper is a waste of time. He claims to know everything that goes on here, and he knows nothing, e.g. his believing that the communist party is banned here. What Prosper does not realize is that we Americans know what communism is, and that it is EVIL, and because of that, the commmie party has become so marginalized here that maybe a few thousand brain-dead kooks honestly think it's the paradise Karl Marx would have us believe, and unfortunately, alot of them are teaching on college campuses. About 5% of France's National Assembly (similar to our House of Representatives) are communists elected by the French people.

See...through my demostrated ignorance, how much i know about the communist party. Like I said, the the commie party is really not much of a party. No alcohol:) I would not go if I was invited. I'm having some fun with Prosper. I guess he has some warped views of this country.

Rob, study the platform of some of the dem candidastes. They are as communist as Stalin, but lacking the balls.

For those of you who wanted a point-of-view coming from France, here it is:

I am an American who married a white Frenchman while living in California. I say white so you know he is not a Muslim from France. He was an engineer who was laid-off in California. We came to France to escape the extremely high cost of living in California and wait for the US economy to revive itself.

Two years later we have purchased a home in the town of Trappes. This is a city in the Parisian suburbs renowned for Muslim extremists that recently arrested a ring of terrorists in the month of September (not the same town where the riots are currently occuring). Had I known that purchasing property in France is pretty much a life-long commitment, I would have backed out. Of course, when you're married to a Frenchman, there is still a little masculine control in the French culture. Should have married American!

The town of Trappes is known for its multitude of high-rise social housing. The Marche of Trappes, (outdoor market) is filled with Arab vendors, blaring Muslim religious music, Halal meat (Muslim version of Kosher), and women who are either veiled or wearing Burkas. It is sort of like a cheap flea market, but the goods are mostly crap. In order to purchase something you have to push and be prepared to be pushed to get the vendor's attention. I have been to this market but stopped going the last time I witnessed the men of the community holding cloth bags for donations to the Islaamic Mosque and community center. I felt also a little worried about becoming the first beheaded American woman in France. I have a young child.

On one occasion the vendor recognized my accent and asked me where I was from. I said I was Dutch. That was a dumb reply because he started speaking Dutch and I don't know one word of Dutch. I just figured Canadian is too close to American. Anyway, then he asked "Really where are you from." And I was horrified. I felt like I couldn't think fast enough to lie about where I was from, so I said I was American. And actually he was pretty nice to me and never gave me any problems. He was probably more shocked to see an American at this market than I was by his question.

So I have a 2-year old that I take to the park. There have been several occasions when we see the women dressed from head to toe in their black gowns and Burkas. And I think of the day that my son will have to attend public school with this culture. Maybe he will ask me why women wear such an outfit and I can only become enraged at the question myself. It is a slap in the face to all the women who have fought to liberate women from many places in the world from masculine control.

So, are they forced to wear these veils? It turns out that there are quite a few FRENCH-BORN converts to this religion. And I can only think of it as a cult-like group more than a religion. There is a "Librarie" that sells books, gowns, religious material, strictly for the Muslim community. The owner of the store is French-born. Someone threw a stone at his store window and the hole has yet to be repaired.

So, while I am living immersed in this culture, I have to say it only brings me fear when I see one of them. Is that considered Islaamaphobic? I see the men with long beards and funky hats and I think they think I should be wearing a veil and covering myself. Then I see the women and I get chills, yet I don't feel sypmathy for them.

When I walk the streets, this is going to sound vulgar, but there is saliva mixed with mucus all over the streets. I walk my son to the daycare center and there is dog shit and vomit (last week) ALL OVER the streets. As soon as the sun sets, the criminals/wrongdoers take to the streets and I was once worried that we don't belong outside after dark. It seemed like there were drug dealers in their cars. You just look into the eyes of an evil person and you just feel it. You don't see it as often in the US, but when you see someone with crime in their past or present, you can see and feel it through their eyes. I am sure this comment will be scrutinized.

We took my son to the playground just at sunset and there were 3 Arab teenagers in a little cabana/hut at the top of the playground hitting each other and my son wanted to go play and I had to tell him "No, we need to leave before something bad happens." You try to keep your cool in these types of situations, but it is very uncomfortable. The next morning after I picked him up from the daycare center, we went to the same park and I went into the cabana to make sure they didn't leave behind any drug paraphanalia (spelling?) and there were 3 huge balls of this saliva/mucus on the floor there. I told him we would never return to this park.

One other occasion I spoke with a muslim woman who was veiled. She told me she couldn't find a job because she wore the veil as though she were the victim. She was pretty nice, but there seems to be a hint of "victim" sentiment amongst the Muslim community.

So these are just my personal experiences, and I have to say it is not at all pleasant to live around this culture. I sometimes ask myself what I have done to go from living in a beautiful, free, and clean America to living in this country. What happened to all the books I have read about France and its beauties? And I can't help but contemplate divorce. For the most part, my husband is a nice guy, but the fact is that we will loose at least 30,000-Euros if we sell our house now. This is what they call "Frais de Notaire" Or Notary fee that is a mandatory fee for purchasing property in France. I guess it is sort of like a form of property tax paid in advance.

Not to mention the taxes in this country are steep. Of course we've all heard about it, but I am experiencing it first hand and the government will take from you until you don't have anything left to take.

So, you take dirty streets, muslim extremists, high taxes and you ask yourself what the fuck are you doing in this country? I haven't been working since my son was born and I am worried about finding a job in the US if I were to return.

The ONLY advantage that French living has is the universal healthcare system. Although that is causing hefty debts and is expected to need lots of reform in the immediate future. And the standards for hygiene are FAR lower. We took my son to the ER because he needed stitches. We sat in a small, densely attended waiting room (breeding ground for disease) and waited for 1.5 hours to be seen. In the interim, someone came in and vomitted on the floor twice, mid-way between the waiting room and entrance. Do you know what they did? They threw sheets partially over the vomit and left it there for more than an hour. I thought I would be out of my mind. When I mentioned it was not hygenic for a hospital ER to leave vomit on the floor they all kind of rolled their eyes and said "we know."

Let me just state that I am all for people having freedom of religion. However, for some reason, everything about this religion seems wrong to me. Even satanic cults seem to want to inflict less pressure on humanity than does the Muslim community. I do believe their intention is to populate, populate, and populate so as to impose their culture on us eventually. And this is what part of what worries me. I also worry that their laws are based on religion. And this is not freedom for anyone.

Since this experience, I would not recommend anyone to European living, unless you are very wealthy. My husband is an engineer, with a decent salary, even better in the US. But now we are living almost at the bottom of the food chain, while most Americans in this region are on Ex-pat contracts and living pretty "high on the hog." Don't come here unless you've got LOTS of money!

You aren't a lucky woman, AmericaninTrappes, your husband should have known how important it is to well choose a suburb.
The USA aren't represented by the dirtiest suburbs of LA, and France isn't represented by its musulism suburbs.

I live now in Paris, and I don't see the same things than you at all, but for this, I pay my flat very expensive. I pay 450$ a month for 18 square meters.
For this price, I have no musulism suburbs near my flat.
I almost never see any musulism, except the one who sell food in a small shop at the corner.
I never see any vomit at all, except when I drink too much :)

If you are close to a musulism suburbs, that's not France that you experience, but the worse you can find all over the musulism suburbs. You'll find junkies, extremists, robbers, rappers ...

First of all, Paris is realy nice but only for tourism. In France, life is much better outside Paris.

If you go far from Paris, you'll find things that are twice cheaper, there are no musulism suburbs or other things.
You'll have a big and cheap house.
In fact the american way of life is closer to the French country way of life.

If you want to find the France you have been described, you should take holidays in small villages.
But if you go to Paris, and choose a cheap suburbs, you're playing with your own safety!

It's as dangerous as having a house in LA in a dangerous suburb.

As you just said, to live well in Paris, a decent salary is not enough, otherwise you have to choose between a small flat in a good suburb or a big flat in a musulism suburb...

I think you didn't have a lot of luck, you experienced the worse existing in Paris.
Too live well in Paris, two people need to earn at least 4000$ a month before taxes (=2.500$ after taxes). A good flat is at least at 1200$ a month (1000€).
If you and your husband don't earn at least this, you'll live 2 or 3 times better outside Paris.

Dennis, you know when you're talking about poors in America, black poors, here it's the same with musulisms.
In musulism suburbs you'll find the poorest people of France, and so you'll find drug dealers, robbers etc.. You'll see teenagers spiting in the streets, shouting at girls, you'll find single mothers, veiled women, vomit and shit on the floor etc ...

I have one advise to all americans : it is very very important if you come to France to choose a place far from any musulism suburb.

Here is a list of the suburbs you should avoid at all costs.

I just checked on the internet and I found :

The worse suburbs of Paris are

-Trappes
-Mantes la Jolie
-Plaisir
-Les Clayes

As you can see AmericaninTrappes, yours is listed among the worse suburbs of Paris !
If I were you I would move from this place at any cost.
I'm sorry but you're living in/next a dangerous ghetto.

American people, if you go there, well you'll find exactly what AmericaninTrappes described, and that's not a funny place.

AmericaninTrappes, do you know what is the Trappes nickname in Paris :

Trappes is sometimes named "ville du crime".

Which mean "crime city".

You realy need to move ... a few kilometers and you would be safe.

Oh My God,

I'm very sorry to hear that your area is in the state like that. We all make bad real estate deals. I've made one in Southern California in the early 90's. Sometimes you have to cut your losses. But get out of there at all costs. I hope and pray that your husband sees the light and leaves with you. Your lives and the life of your child are first and foremost.
Good Luck
and God Bless the USA.

I knew Trappes was one of the worst suburbs of Paris when we bought here. My husbands works in Montigny-les-Brittenoux (can't spell it), which is 5 min. commute to his work. And it was for this reason that he convinced me that it's not as bad as its reputation. He still thinks that Trappes is a well-hidden secret for property prices!

But the truth of the matter is that the Muslim problem in France is never more evident than in Trappes. I didn't mention this in my previous poste, but I also lived for a year in Aix-en-Provence. This is very close to Marseille, where even a greater population of Muslims reside in France. So maybe in the French country there are fewer Muslims, but the fact is that I can't help but wonder if they will overpopulate the current French population.

Since it seems that you are French, you should know that the French real-estate prices are also outrageous when compared with the salaries. I have calculated my potential salary with taxes and paying for an Assistante Maternelle, as all the creches are full. If I were to find a job, I need a fairly decent salary to avoid it all going to daycare and taxes. Hence there aren't many good paying jobs in France, even for a native English Speaker and former Technical Writer.

The bottom line for the reason we live in Trappes is MONEY. We were paying 800-Euros for rent in an apartment of 60m2. We have a child, so we need a little bigger place than 18m2. My husband earns 55,000Euros/year. His net salary is 3,600/month. He seems to think this is France's higest possible salary!! He was earning $85,000 in USA. We purchased a house for a total of 264,000-Euros with 20-year loan, making the payment exactly 30% of his net income or a little more (1,325). We had to pay 30,000-Euros for Frais de Notaire and the real-estate agent. Don't forget, there is a MANDATORY mortgage insurance when one purchases property in France. In my husband's case, because he has a slight disease, we are paying 125-Euros per month.

Another less-fortunate aspect of French living is that if my husband were to die, the house goes half to me (his spouse) and half to our son. I couldn't sell the house until our son turns 18. My husband says at least I have the "right" to live in the house for my life. But if he were to die, the last thing I would do would be to stay in this God Forsaken country. In order to change this, we must go back and pay the NOTAIRE another 3,000 - 4,000-EUROS.

I'm going to Texas in November, maybe to return to France, but maybe not. It is sad that I can't adapt to another way of living, but an American who is accustomed to good customer service, cleansliness, and a friendly atmosphere, is definitely going to find it more difficult to adapt to the depths of French hell. The only sad thing is that an innocent child is involved and I always said I would never want to raise a child in a divorced family. Never say never.

After hearing your story, I feel very for you and your family. At the risk of sounding blunt I'd like to make a suggestion. Get you and your family back here. Where you had the idea that the American Economy was doing poorly I don't know. Perhaps California where you were living is experiencing some economical slide, but here in the southeast (Georgia) business is booming and the economy is flourishing. And yes, even for engineers. I have a veterinary clinic I opened 5 years ago in a suburb in a suburb North of Atlanta. Taxes are cheap, property is very affordable, and my business growth is far exceeding my expectations. We have an influx of residents moving in from all over the country (many from Ca.) and all seem to be doing very well financially. Your families security is too priceless to take chances in the area you are living in (with the animals you are living near). Get back home where you'll be safe. Good Luck.

AmericaninParis, don't divorce, explain him why you don't want to live there, it seems you've got enough money for a better living.

It looks like your husband prefers to spare money with a cheaper property, but it's a bad process: you will win less money if you sell it, it will be harder to sell it, and the suburb can be dangerous.

I know a lot of French who wouldn't agree living where you live even with twice less money. I would never live near a musulism suburb, at ANY cost.
Your husband must be very tolerant with others, but he should acknowledge that you can't bear living in Trappes !

You're complaining about taxes? Welcome to France, where the workers work for lasy guys !! This what they call "socialism", and what I call "gummint shity demagogy".

If you want less taxes : move to England or USA. I'm gonna work in London I think, or I'll look for a job in Atlanta maybe.

I can't bear my shity lefty governement anymore.

Thank you AmericaninParis for your insider view of French urban life. California is not the only place to live well in the USA. Please consider staying here when you return. Tell the husband unit to follow ASAP, cut the losses and start over. An engineer would have to be braindead to not make a decent living somewhere! Plus, over here, you can shoot criminals, looters & rioters. Okay,that was a little flippant but, for your safety and peace of mind, get out now! It's going to get worse. Best wishes.

Pierce If you are looking for a job with less taxes, you might consider Ireland. I understand they give a substantial tax break to business and skilled labor. I don't know what field you're in but if you have a high tech skill, you can make it anywhere. I is sad what is happening to france and the beautiful city of Paris. I've been there many times when I was stationed in Germany. We always had a good time.
Americanintrrappes is a real eye opener. I hope everything works out.
Cheers

I suppose we have sort of strayed away from the original topic. But since we're on the topic of French living, very contrary to what the tourist and travel guides explain, here are the taxes we have encountered since September on a salary counted at 49,000 Euros, after minor deductions:

Please note that in France the interest paid on a mortgage loan is NOT deductable!

September 10: 4,200-Euros income tax (not automatically dedcuted from check)

September 21: 711-Euros Tax d'habitation (living tax) - 116-Euros of this tax is for owning a television!!

October 1st: 279-Euros Tax for rent we paid in our old apartment!

October 15th: 463-Euros Property tax, retroactive since August. Don't forget we had just paid approx. 20,000-Euros to the French Notaire to purchase the house. Notaires are government employees in France, hence it is some sort of tax.

Sales tax in France is 19.6%, making most goods and services extremely expensive, i.e. cell phone bill for 2 hours/month is 40-EUros. I paid that much for unlimited service in the US.

And when you travel on the Autoroute - a 4-hour trip to our inlaws costs 24-Euros for using the road each way. That is in addition to the approximately 5-Euros/gallon for gas.....

You are all right - I need to get home and stay home. I am mostly from San Antonio, Texas where living standards are great, weather is hot, but beats the cold, but affordable, nice housing is available. I just need a little courage to make such a bold move. I never wanted to ruin the life of my child by putting through divorce. I feel divorce is a negative aspect of childhood to be avoided if at all possible...of course, when the time comes, better to do it, than to wind up dead.

AmericaninParis, do what you have to do. The husband unit will follow. You've already done the thinking, now put it to action. At the very least, the kid won't go up full of Euroweenie socialist, the government knows best, drivel. Please keep posting. We care. Baddog

40 euro/ a month for 2 hours on your cell phone: change the operator: I pay 6 hours + 120 SMS for 60 euro with Bouygues Tel...
19,6 % sales taxes: right but depending on what you buy. Then it's Around 5%
The cost of of the child keeper: you can delete them from your "impôts". When you got child, you get money from the state ok?.
2 mistakes you done:
Going to Trappes. I can understand the unsafe feeling is higher than anywhere else. But there's Trappes and Trappes: Few area in Trappes are smelly.
I earn 60 kEuro/year. And I live in a flat in the 15 th arrondissement in Paris (where most of the American are living: there's the bilingual school) , in a 70m2 (yeah yeah, it's small but it's fine for my way of life). Got two like kids. 2 cars (Scenic and Punto). And still got money to travel and so on. I guess we'll move in the countryside once.
What was the point to buy a house there in Trappes?
Second mistake:
There are few people that are able to travel and adapt themselves to other countries, cultures. Most can't. You're just one of them.
So: move out Trappes, sell the house, take a flat in the 15th, and try to keep your mind opened: French are not all dirty, smelly, idiot, arrogant and so on...

Why are talking about divorce?? If you explain your husband in a way he understands you have no choice, he will understand, maybe after a little argument. You need to leave this suburb

AmericaninTrappes - I've pretty much stayed out of this discussion and deferred to Pierce and Prosper who know much more about the conditions in France than I do, as they have made clear to me many times. ;) I see that the riots are in their 7th night and getting worse. I don't know how close they are getting to you, but I wish you all the best. Good Luck.

We've had race riots here in the USA, Watts and Rodney King come to mind, but I don't think we're ever had in the US what is going on in France. As France's Muslim population increases, I fear it will only get worse.

You know what Denny, I hope the lefty shiters won't use these riots to say the police is fashist or something.

The riots are not very dangerous, in fact it's just a bunch of violent musulism piromen, having fun, they know they are "protected" by medias.
These stupid young guys found a raison to get in the streets and burn cars they can't afford themselves.

In these suburbs, you can find poor musulisms, and the problem is that poor muslisms tend to become extremist.

To protest against racism, they show how violent they can be ... not very smart ... with this kind of advertising, they are making things worse even for the good integrated musulisms who will now feel the riot effect in everybody's look.

Yes, there is a discrimination against suburbs musulisms.
When I see the news, I just understand that people can be frightened by these uneducated and violent poor musulisms. The more musulism-riot there will be, the more French will become racist.
If they continue, they won't find any job, even sweeping in the street.

They have no choice, they can make themselves fit our system or go to hell.

Wow Pierce I could not have said it better myself.
I hope that Americanintreppes and family is safe.

Cheers

I've read reports that these rioters are shooting at police.

Hey, Prosper & Pierce, I thought EU criminals didn't have guns. What happened? Did these firearms magically fucking appear in the hands on these whackos?

Man, France must be a very violent place to live. I'd have to own a gun if I lived over there. Or can I? Would they throw me in jail for wanting to defend my property and famiy?

Oh hell, I wouldn't care if these looters burned down my house and all my shit with it. After all, they didn't burn my stuff, they torched the insurance company's property. Right, Pierce? Right, Prosper?

This is how practical, intelligent Americans handle looters and rioters. We stand on top of our houses with a semi-automatic rifle (and LOTS of ammo). My favorite is the AK-47. Some people like AR-15's. When we see the crowds coming, we get ready. As soon as they draw close enough and start throwing rocks and Malitov Cocktails, we zero in on one particular asshole in the crowd. Squeeze the trigger. PWAP! Down he goes. Pick another. And another. And another. But don't go into a shooting frenzy. Be nice. Be discriminate when you kill. Eventually, they'll start running because in six seconds, three of their fellow rioters got smoked. Problem solved.

Now you know how Americans handle a riot. Questions?

This is what happens when private citizens are banned from owning weapons by their governments- The only ones left with weapons are the state, and the criminals, and when the states are socialist, they won't (and their law-abiding citizens can't) use weapons to end the violence, or at least defend themselves.