news of Britain's death greatly exaggerated

Submitted by Luigi Funesti-Sordido (Australia), Jul 16, 2005 at 07:02

After reading the links you've placed in your article, I've found that all the commentators you've linked to have a more balanced, less alarmist view of Britain's treatment of terrorism - which isn't to say there aren't problems that need to be addressed, and I'm sure they will be addressed.

It's definitely true that Britain has been more willing to change than France has ever been. France has always had a more rigid society, which is why, for example, it has suffered a much fiercer anti-colonial backlash than Britain has (Britain has nothing really to compare with the Algerian terrorists France has to contend with). But to argue that Britain's greater openness will lead to its demise in the near future - your last line that 'France, for all its political failings, has held onto a sense of self that may yet see it through' clearly implies that Britain won't see it though - is frankly preposterous.

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