French Minister: polygamy a root cause of rioting

That's a new one for me. We all know how violent old-school Mormons can be, so perhaps he has a point (for the clueless, this was a joke). What is more interesting is that the French are increasingly pointing their fingers at the way children are raised in the largely immigrant and first generation French communities which rioted. Although it is likely the families abdicated much of their responsibility, it hardly explains the level of rioting. France needs to focus on job creation and an end to discrimination if it wants to avoid future riots. Parents should do more, and reducing benefits for truant behavior would certainly be effective.

France's employment minister on Tuesday fingered polygamy as one reason for the rioting in the country.

Gérard Larcher said multiple marriages among immigrants was one reason for the racial discrimination which ethnic minorities faced in the job market. Overly large polygamous families sometimes led to anti-social behaviour among youths who lacked a father figure, making employers wary of hiring ethnic minorities, he explained.

Wait; these are children of the Republic, making the father figure... Jacques Chirac. Reason enough to complain, in my estimation.

The minister, speaking to a group of foreign journalists as the government stepped up efforts to improve its image with the foreign media, said: "Since part of society displays this anti-social behaviour, it is not surprising that some of them have difficulties finding work ... Efforts must be made by both sides. If people are not employable, they will not be employed."

The riots, and the government's slow reaction to the violence, has led to widespread criticism that France's ruling class is out of touch with the rest of the country. Mr Larcher's comments could further fuel the debate and are likely to outrage Muslim and anti-racism groups in France. [...]

Polygamy is a taboo subject for most mainstream French politicians. Far-right groups, however, have seized on it to argue that immigrants abuse the French social security system by collecting state benefits for several wives.

The government has also been criticised for refusing to closely analyse demographic patterns in France in order to better integrate minorities. But Mr Larcher said France was so traumatised by the Vichy government's expulsion of French Jews to German concentration camps during the second world war that it still found it unpalatable to allow information to be collected on people's ethnic origins.

This is certainly understandable, but doubtless the information gathered can be made completely anonymous. I get the feeling that France doesn't really want to know how many immigrants or practicing Muslims it has for fear of a political backlash.

The rise of populism is always a risk when parental and State authority breaks down. France seems particularly at risk given their high levels of discrimination and the casuawhichcism wich exists there. Expect to see more politicians embracing populism. In the meantime, I hope the Employment Minister is properly ridiculed for his weird explanation of the riots.