Oh, Those Wacky French

It's always amusing to hear some ignoramus call the United States the most segregated nation on Earth, where many politicians wrap themselves in the flag to get votes. Those folks have either never traveled outside of the U.S. or never read anything about Europe, France in particular. The French, by the way, are not only much more neurotic about nationalism than we are, they tend to be more racist in general. Which brings us to this story about (surprise!) more French riots, racism, super nationalism and bizarre politics in the land of foie gras. Just three weeks from the first round of voting and in the wake of a mini-riot on Tuesday, there came a polarisation from all the main candidates on the issue of patriotism. And it was the hardliners who saw the benefits, with far-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen climbing 2 per cent to 15 per cent of voting intentions in the latest CSA poll. FULL STORY at Guardian.Observer...