The French have long held up their integrationist approach to immigration as a model. Countries with different policies can be forgiven, therefore, for Schadenfreude at the powerlessness of that model to contain rioting over the past 12 days. Yet the rapid spread of the disturbances from the Parisian suburbs to cities such as Toulouse and Strasbourg offers little ground for complacency to neighbours with large immigrant populations, rigid labour laws, self-serving political elites and sluggish economic growth. The torching of cars in Berlin and Brussels over the weekend is a warning that the violence could become more generalised.

Historical comparisons with the May events of 1968, and even the revolutions of 1848, are tempting. Yet to date they are distinguished more by their differences than their similarities. The rioting in France this autumn has no clear political aim beyond an expression of disgust with the government and, in particular, the interior minister, Nicolas Sarkozy. It has not attracted other sections of society, in contrast to 1968, when revolutionary students were joined by the trade unions, or to 1848, when widespread demonstrations brought down the July Monarchy of Louis-Philippe in France, and in Austria forced the resignation of Metternich, the architect of the Congress of Vienna. Jacques Chirac may yet make a scapegoat of Mr Sarkozy, but there is no sign as yet that the president will be forced out of office before his term expires in 2007. As for his hopes of a third term, those expired with the constitutional referendum defeat in May.

Yet this is much more than a little local difficulty. In assimilating Muslim immigrants from Africa and Asia, France and its neighbours face a more profound problem than they did with the revolutionaries of previous eras. The cultural divide is greater and is being widened by a radical Islamic movement which preaches hatred of Western materialism. And the sense of impending crisis is deepened by the extraordinary weakness of those in office.

France is marked by fin de régime rivalry between Mr Sarkozy and Dominique de Villepin, the prime minister. Germany faces the sclerosis of a grand coalition. In Italy, Silvio Berlusconi is more discredited than ever. In Britain, while Tony Blair defiantly bangs the security drum, the electorate waits for him to step down. And all this is taking place against a chronic inability to boost sluggish growth. 1968 or 1848 it may not be, but there is in western Europe a general feeling of malaise, of disillusionment with politicians, expressed by low voting figures. On this, the riots rocking France could feed.