Maybe France Deserves to Burn

Didn't France just legalize abortion?

Selwyn Duke | October 27, 2026

In 1811, Joseph de Maistre, a French philosopher who detested the French Revolution, famously said: “People get the government they deserve."

In light of recent events in France and elsewhere, however, something else comes to mind: Do people get the riots they deserve, too? Maybe — sometimes.

Now, I’ll preface my remarks by saying that I really do hope France channels its inner Napoleon and rights the ship. And were I in charge there, I assure you the rioting miscreants would meet their Waterloo in short order. (If the Duke of Wellington can do it, so can the Duke of Westchester. I do proffer my services, too, but I require the same deal the Roman Republic offered during crises: A man would be appointed dictator for a specified time to restore normality, endowed with extraordinary powers and largely free from the usual legal constraints — wink.) But a thought occurred to me the other day.

Just two years ago France became the world’s first nation to explicitly guarantee a “right to abortion” in its constitution. Approximately 85 percent of Frenchmen supported the amendment, President Emmanuel Macron characterized the move as “French pride,” and the Eiffel Tower “was lit up in celebration, with the message: ‘My Body My Choice,’” wrote the BBC at the time.

Note here, though, what France’s constitution does not guarantee: freedom of speech — at least, not really. The document does claim it’s protected, but then adds the caveat, “except to answer for the abuse of this freedom in cases determined by law.” Translation:

You’re free to say anything—that the government allows you to say.

So you can, and people are (see Brigitte Bardot, et al.), punished for Hate Speech™ in France.

So watch your mouth. But if you want to kill an unborn baby, well, Brie Brother is there with bells on (though not church bells; those have been replaced with the adhan.)

And, no, this isn’t “just” about prenatal........

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