The situation in France is very similar to what happened in New Orleans. Classism and poverty have stretched the lower end of the spectrum to its breaking point. Whether it is a hurricane or the electrocution of two kids dumb enough to hide in a substation is irrelevant. Using New Orleans as a metaphor, when the levees of social justice are strained, just the right pressure is all that's needed to break them and flood the city with violence and unrest.
Similar in the end result, perhaps, but not in how it came about.
It is my understanding that these two kids were Muslim, who as a religious group were essentially invited into the country through lax immigartion policy, and then not given the tools and opportunities to create a better life for themselves. They wound up marginalized as a group and then civil unrest began to set it.
A lot of these rioters were just looking for a reason to go off, and it came in the form of two stupid, stupid kids. It's a shame.