The International Herald Tribune reports an astounding statistic, attributed to French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy:

Sarkozy says that violence in French suburbs is a daily fact of life.

Since the start of the year, 9,000 police cars have been stoned and, each night, 20 to 40 cars are torched, Sarkozy said in an interview last week with the newspaper Le Monde.

Pardon me while I pick my jaw up off the floor.