Cars bear the brunt of Sarko's victory

On Sunday the French elected a new free-market leaning pro-American president, but quickly proved they still have it in for the favored status symbol of American capitalism: The car.

Defeated Socialist Segolene Royal probably encouraged this latest round of automobile murder by warning, in the last days of a campaign which was getting away from her, that if rival Nicolas Sarkozy was victorious there would be unrest in the immigrant suburbs where Sarkozy has been reviled ever since he referred to car-hating suburban rioters as racaille, which means "rabble," two years ago.

Royal's supporters have proven her more honest than electable by taking to the streets with killing on their minds and steel and rubber in their sights. The toll on Sunday night was 730 cars dead (the equivalent to 3500 cars killed in America), most by burning. There aren't final numbers for Monday yet, but it is generally assumed a higher percentage of automobiles were able to survive the night, and that the rioting seems to be subsiding.

French officials point out that 730 dead cars is not so different than what the count would be on a national holiday, such as Bastille Day, and this latest flare up won't come close to matching the record high of 9000 (42,000 in the US) vehicles murdered during the infamous riots of 2005.

Sarkozy obviously has a long way to go before he can convince the French that in a successful capitalist society you use the opportunity a riot presents to loot stores for useful consumer goods -- you don't waste your outrage on the mindless slaughter of the hard working automobiles that literally drive modernity. When Sarko is able to ween the racaille off the car killing it will signal a France which is truly ready to embrace change and the challenges of the twenty-first century.