EUro Decay

I finally had the leisure to open the latest issue of City Journal today. As usual the first thing I sought out was Theodore Dalrymple's back page column, The London Diarist. Dr. Dalrymple is explaining to a correspondent of a liberal Dutch newspaper why he chose to move from England to France. His answer?

I said that I thought France was a decade or two behind Britain in cultural
decline. It had maintained certain standards a little better than Britain -
though, I added, I could see that it was heading in the same direction.

This is amusing because the lead time in magazine publishing means that Dr. Dalrymple's discussion with the Dutch reporter had to have happened before the recent, and still ongoing, French intafada. I wonder if the sight of Muslimm youth rampaging through the streets, burning cars (and elderly women on at least one occasion) has caused the good doctor to rethink his opinion.