The full ramifications of France's suburban ghetto crisis have come into view after 12 nights of rioting spread throughout the country.
The French cabinet's decision to authorise curfews and reverse cuts in socio-economic expenditure targeting these post-immigrant citizen communities shows the two faces of state force and social amelioration involved. In the short term these measures may restore order.
But there is an exceedingly long way to go in meeting the demands for cultural respect, social equality and an end to racial discrimination made by the young rioters. France faces a profound challenge in tackling a "social fracture" that has been long in the making.
It was clearly identified a decade ago by President Jacques Chirac, no less. In a campaign book for the 1995 election he warned French voters that "a soft terror reigns in the deprived suburbs" and spelled out his vision for healing the "vulnerable and wounded" country. "When too many youths see on the horizon only unemployment or short internships at the end of uncertain studies, they end up in revolt. For the moment, the state is only trying to keep order and handouts stave off the worst. But for how long?" These far-seeing sentiments were echoed again in his 2002 election campaign when he defeated the far-right candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen.
There has been much criticism of Mr Chirac's silence in the face of this crisis, which illustrates so much of what was prefigured in these comments. It took him days to speak substantively about it, insisting then that the first priority must be to restore legality, before pursuing measures to restore equal opportunity. The gap between reality and aspiration was echoed in prime minister Dominique de Villepin's remarks yesterday: "The Republic faces a moment of truth ... France is wounded. It cannot recognise itself in its streets and devastated areas, in these outbursts of hatred and violence which destroy and kill," he told the national assembly. "A return to order is the absolute priority. The government has shown this. It will take all the steps necessary to ensure the protection of our citizens and to restore calm ... We see these events as a warning and as an appeal."
Commentators have justifiably fastened on the curfew legislation's origin in 1950s emergency legislation during the Algerian war of independence and the fact that it is now being used against a post-colonial revolt by Algerians and other north Africans who migrated to France and became full French citizens. This rebellion is based on demands for respect, recognition and republican participation - not on Islamic fundamentalism.
The useful socio-economic initiatives against social discrimination, for more teachers and jobs announced yesterday by Mr de Villepin have similar but more recent resonances. For the most part they restore cuts made by the new right-wing government after Mr Chirac's victory in 2002. His government has widened the social fracture and must now reduce it.