The Mome Rath

In Paris Charles de Gaulle, after an all-night flight, at passport control: there are two windows open, one for EU Citizens, with a short, fast-moving line, another one for All Passports, with another, much longer and apparently immobile line of people. The EU line is composed of mainly white, urban-looking people, whereas the All Passports crowd looks more like a massive Benneton audition.

Another agent comes and opens a second window for All Passports. Amazingly, everyone stays in the same long line, which now begins to move perceptibly, as the people at the front break off one by one to one of the two windows. I am asking myself how long this will last. By and by an airline agent comes along, pushing a lady in a wheelchair, and takes her straight to the second window, bypassing the line. Everyone lets this pass, and all remain in line. Then, towards the back where I am standing, a gentleman who appears to be from someplace east of Babylon wanders up, unsure where to go. He looks over at the EU line, then sees All Passports, where one window has no line, only one person in a wheelchair. He goes up and gets behind the wheelchair. All hell breaks loose as half the people in the long line now race over the other line.

Question: was the Eastern gentleman showing a complete disrespect for the social conventions of those who were there before him? Or was he the smartest one there?

By the way, the only reason that the single line lasted as long as it did is because Italy is in the EU.