[avant_garde]

man, I really don't understand why that didn't stop this........

The French are appeasers. The leaders in charge believe if they come down hard on the rioters they will have riots in the streets.

[USFRIENDINVICTORIA]

Appeasement = rewarding bad behaviour.

If the riots are being planned and coordinated centrally, the strategy is brilliant. They're focusing on fireworks, and other fun stuff, which draws out the young troublemakers. There isn't yet enough violence to justify an iron-fisted response (look what happened to the Serbs). Meanwhile, the thing just keeps on growing -- when it reaches a critical mass, it could shift over into heavy violence, complete with serious weapons.