The Seventh Arrondissement of Paris, normally swank and sedate, witnessed a riot this weekend.

Rioting just in front of the Peace Wall, in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, is surprising; but more surprising still is the cause of the unrest: a scheme to give away money, aborted at the last minute.

The scheme –to pass out 5,000 envelopes stuffed with between 5 and 500 euros in cash– was initiated by Rentabiliweb, ostensibly to promote its mailorama.fr site.

The instigator of the money giveaway is none other than Stéphane Bakris, a young man who made a name for himself by simu-launching a site that claimed to do schoolchildren’s homework, for a fee. I voiced my doubts about that effort, just as I question what this scheme really was about.

The organizers certainly drew attention to themselves, promising a “live show” with an effort that would be “more effective than an ad campaign.”

On the appointed day, a large crowd gathered, eager to pick up free money. Then the organizers backed out. (I couldn’t find out whether they even showed up.) Rioting ensued in the neighborhood: cars were overturned, projectiles were thrown, people were roughed up. The organizers now claim an intent to donate to the Secours Populaire, a respected and worthy organization that helps the resource-challenged.

What, precisely, was this scheme all about? What did its organizers hope to accomplish? I’m puzzled. Urban unrest can’t possibly have been the objective. If I follow its site, mailorama.fr offers a chance to make money by reading e-mails and by earning rebates from online merchants. Wouldn’t word-of-mouth or online buzz suffice to draw users to this site? As for Rentabiliweb, I confess not to understand precisely how it earns money. This, for me, if the most paradoxical aspect of the aborted scheme: what use is buzz if there’s no target or objective?