The Protesters of Paris

Writing in City Journal, Claire Berlinski describes the two groups of protesters she found in Paris. An excerpt:

But it isn’t hard to understand how this mistake was made. Most people’s contact with the movement, including the police’s, was like mine—again, most seem to be peaceful, sympathetic people, respectful of authority, and simply too old for that kind of mayhem. What kind of 40-year-old guy from a rural farm comes to Paris carrying a gas mask and a makeshift weapons to desecrate the Arc de Triomphe? I sure wouldn’t have guessed there were so many of them, either.