French Riots - Night 16 - Car fires up 8%

There were 502 cars torched Friday night. That's up from 463 the night before.

That's over $5 million in replacement cost, if you average $10,000 per vehicle.

"We returned to an almost normal situation in Ile de France," said national police chief Michel Gaudin, referring to the Paris region. Arson attacks were counted in 163 towns around France, he said. The count of those detained overnight stood at 206, bringing to 2,440 the number of suspects picked up in just over two weeks of unrest.

If this is almost normal it is very sad. For at Friday night's rate in another year "youth rioters" will have eliminated 183,000 vehicles from France's roads, making them much safer for bicycles, horses and the braying asses who now think they rule the night.