I have never been to France. But I have heard time and again an interesting, little-understood fact. While it is true that the French tend to be snobs, somewhat condescending, and have a bit of an attitude problem, they are wonderful people compared to a minority group found in their major cities. That group is Chinese nationals, or to be more specific, Chinese businesspeople, or, as the Chinese government calls them, "Patriotic Capitalists."
We should re-familiarize ourselves with the Chinese flag. The big yellow star represents the communist state. The four smaller stars represent peasants (farmers), laborers (manufacturing workers), petty bourgeoisie, and "Patriotic Capitalists." It is the Patriotic Capitalists who have the privilege to do business overseas, representing their state and their businesses all over the world. One place they have found opportunity and prosperity is France. And without getting into a long post solely about them, I have been told time and again that Chinese businesspeople in France are monsters. They might be rudest, nastiest, least likable people found in all of Western Europe. Taking over the VIP section of clubs and ordering Cristal is expected when you are wealthy and have a healthy ego. I hear these people make Kanye West look like a quiet college professor.
So keep an eye out for stories about them. If what I hear is true, then the Wingnuts have gotten it all wrong. The monsters in France are not Muslim youths in housing projects. They are these Chinese millionaires shitting on and in Paris, Lyon, and Nice.
The French have demonstrated their dislike of this small minority, which I applaud. And today, I have an even bigger reason to applaud the French. Today, they clearly showed their dislike of the Chinese communist state. They snuffed-out the Olympic torch. Actually, they force the officials protecting the torch to extinguish the flame 3 times. Note that they did not extinguish the Olympic flame, which is enclosed in a protective, transparent lantern. But still, this moght be the first time than an anti-Olympic protest snuffed-out an Olympic torch. The Parisians did what the British protesters yesterday could not (they deserve kudos nevertheless):
And as of 14:00 New York time, Reuters and UPI report that the 17-mile Paris torch relay was aborted before it reached its end point. It had been nearly 3 hours behind schedule due to the protests.