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Furry · 11-07-2005, 11:55 AM

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The deal is roughly as follows:

Immigration in the 60's and 70's led to a sharp rise in accomodation demand for work-seekers, primarily from Morroco, Algeria and the other former French African colonies.
The state started building what were at the time very modern, very well thought out housing projects (read: flats/apartments) in the suburbs. People moved in, the areas flourished, Algerian cleaners sat down and had coffee with white teachers etc etc, things worked more or less well.

Here's the important bit. France has a Republican Integration model. Once you're here and get citizenship - especially if you're from a former colony, you are officially French.
Not Algerian/Morrocan etc. French. It was an idea that was supposed to erase the lines between ethnic groups and countries of extraction - you might be white and native, your neighbor might be from Algeria looking for a new life - doesn't matter, you're both French.

However, an Ecosociological phenomenon followed. The investment in these areas was not kept up. Shops closed, rich(er) white people moved away. There was a migration to the more expensive suburbs that tended to have a growing quality of life by white people who still retained a veneer of unease about living next to all the immigrants - either that or they just wanted to go somewhere nicer. Slowly but surely, due to growing mis/noninvestment in these areas, the people who could afford to get out, could - and those that didn't - all the immigrants on low-income jobs - stayed behind.
Gangs gradually moved in. Police became wary. The downward spiral continued.

Things then changed again. The second generation of immigrants (who by now are in the 15-25 age range) suddenly discovered that, due to the gradual decay and the never-really upheld ideal of "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity" they were growing up in the "wrong" part of town. Those who tried to find jobs - and there were many at first - suddenly found that having a name like Mahmoud or Satek literally shut the door on employers. They would be told that the vacancy had been filled. People just didn't want to employ them, and this is the second important bit.

Second and third generation French citizens whose parents came from the former colonies are still seen as immigrants. They are seen as unemployable by the wider part of French society. Sink schools and high dropout rates from education complete the cycle They are shunned, officially and on the street.

I've seen it here myself. I live in one of the towns that has been hit by rioting (50 or so cars burned last night) and I can tell you, as a fact, that in two months here I have seen very few non-white people in the main square (read:richest part) in the centre of town (As a proportation). There are places where these people are simply not welcome.

France claims to be all for equality - it's even in the national motto - but there is an underlying, visceral racism here that I can see in action from day to day. It's not about Islam, even though the laws on religious symbols found their first targets in those whose religion decree visible dress differences - Muslims. It IS true that the affected part of society tends to adhere to that religion, but I see it as a co-incidental fact and as a factor discrete from the overall problem.

I'll write more about this depending on what the news brings, and when I've done a little more thinking on the issue. The press over here is split on its reactions, although government criticism does feature heavily. This is one news item where cross-reading is essential, and I'll be doing exactly that over the next few days. This (for those of you who are politics or sociology students or workers) has the potential to become an issue for wider European integration, which has been moving full-pace since 2002/3. The way that the larger European block treats its citizens will be the making or breaking of closer European ties.

11-07-2005, 11:55 AM	#9 (permalink)
Furry Crazy Location: UK	/ A European TFPer has joined the thread. / Message begins. The deal is roughly as follows: Immigration in the 60's and 70's led to a sharp rise in accomodation demand for work-seekers, primarily from Morroco, Algeria and the other former French African colonies. The state started building what were at the time very modern, very well thought out housing projects (read: flats/apartments) in the suburbs. People moved in, the areas flourished, Algerian cleaners sat down and had coffee with white teachers etc etc, things worked more or less well. Here's the important bit. France has a Republican Integration model. Once you're here and get citizenship - especially if you're from a former colony, you are officially French. Not Algerian/Morrocan etc. French. It was an idea that was supposed to erase the lines between ethnic groups and countries of extraction - you might be white and native, your neighbor might be from Algeria looking for a new life - doesn't matter, you're both French. However, an Ecosociological phenomenon followed. The investment in these areas was not kept up. Shops closed, rich(er) white people moved away. There was a migration to the more expensive suburbs that tended to have a growing quality of life by white people who still retained a veneer of unease about living next to all the immigrants - either that or they just wanted to go somewhere nicer. Slowly but surely, due to growing mis/noninvestment in these areas, the people who could afford to get out, could - and those that didn't - all the immigrants on low-income jobs - stayed behind. Gangs gradually moved in. Police became wary. The downward spiral continued. Things then changed again. The second generation of immigrants (who by now are in the 15-25 age range) suddenly discovered that, due to the gradual decay and the never-really upheld ideal of "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity" they were growing up in the "wrong" part of town. Those who tried to find jobs - and there were many at first - suddenly found that having a name like Mahmoud or Satek literally shut the door on employers. They would be told that the vacancy had been filled. People just didn't want to employ them, and this is the second important bit. Second and third generation French citizens whose parents came from the former colonies are still seen as immigrants. They are seen as unemployable by the wider part of French society. Sink schools and high dropout rates from education complete the cycle They are shunned, officially and on the street. I've seen it here myself. I live in one of the towns that has been hit by rioting (50 or so cars burned last night) and I can tell you, as a fact, that in two months here I have seen very few non-white people in the main square (read:richest part) in the centre of town (As a proportation). There are places where these people are simply not welcome. France claims to be all for equality - it's even in the national motto - but there is an underlying, visceral racism here that I can see in action from day to day. It's not about Islam, even though the laws on religious symbols found their first targets in those whose religion decree visible dress differences - Muslims. It IS true that the affected part of society tends to adhere to that religion, but I see it as a co-incidental fact and as a factor discrete from the overall problem. I'll write more about this depending on what the news brings, and when I've done a little more thinking on the issue. The press over here is split on its reactions, although government criticism does feature heavily. This is one news item where cross-reading is essential, and I'll be doing exactly that over the next few days. This (for those of you who are politics or sociology students or workers) has the potential to become an issue for wider European integration, which has been moving full-pace since 2002/3. The way that the larger European block treats its citizens will be the making or breaking of closer European ties. __________________ Furry is the leader of his own cult, the "Furballs of Doom". They sit about chanting "Doom, Doom, Doom". (From a random shot in the dark by SirLance)