A Magistrate's Warning

Here are the words of Magistrate Jean de Maillard on November 28, 2007 just after the rioting in Villiers-le-Bel began to subside. The text, posted at Gaelle Mann, had to be abridged.

I have to admit that I would not like to be in government today. Nor would I want to live in Villiers-le-Bel. Even less to be a member of the riot police. For I fear that the riots at Clichy-sous-Bois two years ago are only the appetizer of what we are going to have to swallow in the near future.

I am not trying to throw oil on the fire, at any rate these lines fortunately have no chance of being read in Seine-Saint-Denis and other districts scattered throughout the suburban landscape of our beautiful France. But I believe that we must call a spade a spade. When two schools, a library, a police station, a garage and several other buildings on a list already forgotten are set on fire, not to mention dozens of vehicles each day, we are used to it. It has become almost a routine.

However, the second night of Villiers-le-Bel marks an escalation that the media and the government would probably prefer to hush up, but which may be the start of a new stage: the use of firearms. In truth, the surprise is not that the rioters began to use them, but first, that they hadn't done it sooner (...) and second, that they are still confining themselves to hunting rifles and lead shot. The suburbs however have been armed for a long time with caches of quality war weapons, lethal weapons, against which the bullet-proof vests will be useless.

In other words the situation is explosive in both meanings of the word. It seems that from one riot to the next the techniques harden, the methods become more professional and the police and gendarmes will soon have to confront, if they have not already, experts in urban guerilla warfare (...)

He then describes the folly of having waited so long before facing reality, the weakening of a justice system too preoccupied with traffic violations and domestic violence to concern itself with major crime, and the presence of Kalashnikovs, among other types of weapons.

He acknowledges that the Minister of the Interior Michèle Alliot-Marie has created a national registry for firearms, but points out that it will apply to those with a permit, not those hidden in basements.

I think that what I'm about to say may shock you, and it is not with pleasure that I say it, nor out of provocation. But this is a grave moment. I am convinced that up until now we have been lucky that the thugs and future murderers in the suburbs have not yet dared to use their fire power. I hope that the public authorities will become aware of the imminence of calamity and especially that they will finally seek solutions. I would not like to be in their shoes, for the margin of maneuverability, if there is one, will be very narrow. Yes, the perpetrators must be mercilessly punished. But repression, in the long term, solves nothing.

And people must stop dreaming, those on the Left and the others: neighborhood police are not a panacea either. You cannot graft an ethnic police force ("police communautaire") on a society that is this sick and torn apart, in which the members are in open rebellion against society. Police are a means, not a solution. Educators will not be useful either: you cannot cure cancer with a placebo. To shower the caids with subsidies to buy armed peace will be the chosen way: it will provide only a short respite. Is there another solution? I don't know, and I am very happy not to be in government.

Of course, there is another solution, but soon it will be too late. First - seal the borders: no new arrivals for 25 years minimum. Second - add a constitutional amendment that says that immigrants to France must be racially, ethnically and religiously compatible with the traditional French culture. No more than 3% of those living in France can be non-Europeans. Third - deport all criminals and illegals. Fourth - authorize raids all over the suburbs to retrieve weapons. Fifth - send in the armed forces where the police are inadequate and when necessary shoot to kill.

Many will say that that is impossible because France is a generous and peaceful nation, France is not Texas, France cannot kill innocent immigrants, etc... But THEY can kill you.

Fundamentally the French have to give up their dream of a beautiful multi-ethnic, multi-culti paradise where there is no capital punishment, no racism and no inequalities. We have been learning the same lessons in America for more than forty years. Mr. Sarkozy should the the first one to give up this dream whose real name is nightmare. He is fully aware of the reality, whatever he may say, but he will buy time, as the article indicates. He should be the first to declare the country in danger, but he will travel to foreign countries, cut big deals, and form committees. How long he can keep up the charade is anybody's guess - let's hope that the fear of major armed revolt turns the tide and forces the leaders of France to put the safety and preservation of their country first.

Judge Maillard was born in 1951 He contributes to the website Rue89, is vice-president of the superior court of Orléans, and a professor at the Institute of Political Science in Paris. (Wikipedia)