and there's a lot less political control over policing in france than there is, say, in germany or britain. the police deny that there's a culture of racism and brutality. it's too easy, you know, to accuse a french policeman to be a racist. well, the united nations think so. well a commission of the united nations, not all the united nations. you can have some problem with a few policemen. you can have one person perhaps, which is racist, but not all the french police. but a police union statement last week talked about getting rid of "rodents" and referred to "savage hordes". france, the union statement says, is in a state of war. but is it really? there's been a lot of inexcusable lawlessness and criminality, but the answer some experts in france are saying, lies in better policing.