The international press in general wholly blamed the French riots in October and November almost exclusively on poverty, unemployment, racism and discrimination. But was this a realistic and accurate assessment?

Daily Mail feature writer Melanie Phillips takes issue with this evaluation and calls it a state of denial. She writes: "Denying the Islamic element of these riots is to deny the obvious: The vast majority of the rioters are Muslim. They have sent parts of France up in flames . . . [and declare] that they intend to turn France into 'Beirut' and issue pledges of support for Osama Bin Laden" (The Jewish Chronicle).

This astute journalist advises, "Britain should be watching these events across the Channel with undiluted alarm." One reason is that troubles like these could spread to other parts of Europe, including the United Kingdom . Some EU countries with growing Muslim populations could be on the verge of a demographic and social meltdown. (Source: The Jewish Chronicle [ London ].)