Let them eat cake, MMV

[wasabi_poptart]

Regarding the riots in Paris:

At what point does "civil unrest" become "civil war"?

Comments

[nysea.livejournal.com]

when it affects people with money. rioting in the suburbs of paris is not the same as rioting in paris where it would cost money and tourism.

[ranger-hotsauce.livejournal.com]

When one group with guns wants to overthrow, or have autonomy from, the group with guns and political power. I think it's a matter of goals. If the rioters want to be treated better by the government, it's civil unrest. If they want to overthrow the government, it's civil war. I suspect the distinction is more important to people who aren't dodging bullets.

[kitteridge.livejournal.com]

It also strikes me that a civil war requires a certain amount of organization under a common banner. I think what we're seeing/about to see in Iraq is a religious civil war; what we're seeing in Paris is unrest (though that's almost too kind a word).