It's springtime in Paris, and a young man's ( at least certain young men) thoughts turn to rioting and burning cars. Bloomberg reports

About 100 youths battled with the police last night on the outskirts of Paris, injuring nine law enforcement officers, six months after one of the worst riots swept through France's impoverished suburbs.

Violence erupted in the northern suburbs of Clichy— Sous—Bois and Montfermeil yesterday after three men suspected of a robbery were arrested, a spokeswoman for the national police said. Seven cars were torched in Clichy and windows of Montfermeil's city hall were pelted with stones. Several trash cans were set on fire and the young men used baseball bats to attack the police, she said. About 300 law enforcement officers were deployed to control the rioters.

But this time around, a new wrinkle has been added:

Tensions have also touched the center of Paris recently. Over the weekend, a group of young black men scared off pedestrians in the Marais, the city's historic Jewish area. The group of men, claiming to be part of a black radical group called Tribu Ka, which says it follows Louis Farrakhan's Islamic black—nation ideology, rushed into a street named Rosiers and screamed anti—Semitic slogans before leaving without violence, Le Parisien reported.

We await news that French farmers turn their arsonous impulses away from McDonald's restaurants and focus on the latest cultural import from America, Farrakhan.

Hat tip: Michael M

Thomas Lifson   5 30 06