PARIS -- No use telling Japan Times' readers about Beaujolais. Most of them surely have had the opportunity of tasting this refreshing, though somewhat acidic, wine from France. The day in November when new production went on sale used to be celebrated in many places by popular feasts, as a tribute to life and happiness.

The least likely development was that they would lead to riots. Yet that's what happened in the beautiful Alpine city of Grenoble, a dynamic academic and industrial center, where the computer industry has its quarters. For several hours, hundreds of drunk students fought with policemen who had to use tear gas to restore order. Seventeen security guards and 20 demonstrators were wounded.

The strikers voiced no particular demand. One can assume that they wouldn't have become violent and the police wouldn't have intervened if France had not already been taken with two weeks of fury, with thousands of cars burned and dozens of people seriously injured.