Riots in France

Gated communities operate based on a small-scale social contract. As a resident, one implicitly agrees not to commit crimes against others within the community. The penalty for residents who violate this contract is simple -- above and beyond being subjected to traditional legal troubles, violators are expelled from the community.

Upon becoming a resident of a nation, a similar social contract applies. Similar but different. Commit a crime, and your nation will punish you to a greater or lesser extent. What your nation will NOT do, is deport you.

That is, most nations would not. According to this article in the New York Times, France is taking a somewhat different route. For those who aren't aware, "youths" in France, many of them foreigners, have been rioting for about two weeks now -- burning cars, smashing windows, and whatnot. The riots were supposedly spurred by the somewhat questionable deaths of two of young men who were electrocuted while fleeing police.¹

As of today, French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy -- who has been widely criticized for labeling the rioters as "scum" -- has announced that foreigners caught rioting will be deported.

According to the article, humans rights groups are already calling for this order to be rescinded, saying that it is "illegal and needlessly provocative."

Illegal? Doubtful.
Provocative? Certainly.
Needlessly? I don't think so.

Riots are nothing but violence and destruction. They accomplish nothing, and there is no excuse. None. If you want to live in a civilized country, try acting like civilized human beings. I say throw them out, and good riddance.

¹ Details about this incident are decidedly lacking. My personal feeling is that anyone who chooses to "flee police" was probably causing trouble in the first place, and is asking for more by running. Unless there is more to it, I don't have much sympathy.