Mark Steyn has the same sense of pessimism about what is going to happen in Europe as he notes their pusillanimous response to what is happening in their own midst.

What to do? In Paris, while ''youths'' fired on the gendarmerie, burned down a gym and disrupted commuter trains, the French Cabinet split in two, as the ''minister for social cohesion'' (a Cabinet position I hope America never requires) and other colleagues distance themselves from the interior minister, the tough-talking Nicolas Sarkozy who dismissed the rioters as ''scum.'' President Chirac seems to have come down on the side of those who feel the scum's grievances need to be addressed. He called for ''a spirit of dialogue and respect.'' As is the way with the political class, they seem to see the riots as an excellent opportunity to scuttle Sarkozy's presidential ambitions rather than as a call to save the Republic.

A few years back I was criticized for a throwaway observation to the effect that ''I find it easier to be optimistic about the futures of Iraq and Pakistan than, say, Holland or Denmark." But this is why. In defiance of traditional immigration patterns, these young men are less assimilated than their grandparents. French cynics like the prime minister, Dominique de Villepin, have spent the last two years scoffing at the Bush Doctrine: Why, everyone knows Islam and democracy are incompatible. If so, that's less a problem for Iraq or Afghanistan than for France and Belgium.

If Chirac isn't exactly Charles Martel, the rioters aren't doing a bad impression of the Muslim armies of 13 centuries ago: They're seizing their opportunities, testing their foe, probing his weak spots. If burning the 'burbs gets you more ''respect'' from Chirac, they'll burn 'em again, and again.

The title of his column is:

"Wake up, Europe, you've a war on your hands"

And they do. But how do you fight a war against the youth in your own cities? How do you fight a war against people distributed throughout your country? It's not like our Civil War where there was basically a geographic division that combatants could recognize. Is the new division among certain suburbs vs. the rest of the country?

What will probably happen is that enough people will be arrested that the nightly stories of mass riots will stop. The politicians will pretend that they've done something to stop the violence. But that won't be the end of it, of course. Just imagine the opportunities for more rioting as all these hundreds of arrested come to trial. And then picture the next set of elections of France. Le Pen or the equivalent will be back with a message that will appeal to a lot of French voters. As politicians with a tough, nationalist anti-immigration message gain traction, expect more violent reactions from these same Muslim youths. Things aren't going to get any prettier any time in the near future.