Paris' Muslim Riots: As if this is going to help

From the International Herald-Tribune:

After a series of mostly ineffectual pledges by French leaders to restore order and crack down on rioters, the government invoked a 50-year-old law, dating from its war in Algeria, that gives local officials the authority to enforce curfews, as well as other expanded law-enforcement powers.

I like that: "a series of mostly ineffectual pledges..." Pledges do nothing. Actions matter. And the French are famous for speaking and doing nothing.