>Addressed to a UK resident who may know the French better than many here: it's a bad idea to attack the French. Unlike UK and US populations, the French won't weep or punish politicians if there are other casualties to take down the terrorists. The Russians are the same. Assuming these attacks were by Isis, it's about the worst own goal they could have come up with to attack those two. IMHO.

My wife is half French (well, almost - one of her grandparents was Russian) and I've reluctantly come to the conclusion that I don't understand the French at all :-}

But seriously, I think you are right. Opinion here seems to be that IS believe that terrorist attacks are the only way they can retaliate against states using air strikes with no-one on the ground.