Of all the causes to send a country into chaos, it is hard to imagine one sillier than the "outrage" at permitting employers to fire a young worker during a 2 year probationary period. Many commentators from Thomas Sowell on down (that's the rest of humanity, in my opinion) have noted that the reason youth unemployment is so high is that employers rightfully fear hiring workers who can't be fired. Duh. Even Chirac is willing to embrace the "savagery" of the marketplace.

Deutsche Welle, a respected German news site of a radio network, writes of France teetering "on the edge of anarchy." But check out the faces of the girls holding up the sign protesting "slavery." They look like they're having a good time, and seem to have few worries. Frankly, this whole thing looks a lot like the sort of "riots" that used to happen during Spring Break in Fort Lauderdale three or four decades ago. Young people enjoying their hormonal imbalances as the flowers bloom, working off steam.

Springtime in Paris — when a young mna's fancy turns to battling les flics.

Couldn't happen to a better object of scorn than Chirac, though. Karma?

Thomas Lifson  4 2 06