France is the land of revolutions. We know of three revolutions, in 1789, 1830 and 1848. But there were many short, “near-revolutions” too. They were not peaceful. They involved a lot of bloodshed. But they were intended for a noble cause and brought France the reputation of being the “birthplace of the rights of man”. Sadly, those revolutions also gave rise to a liberal left streak in French politics. Support for the violence on the streets of Paris and dozens of other French towns and suburbs in the last week is the latest manifestation of that streak. Burning of thousands...