Friday, November 30, 2007

AP: Riots Point To A Racially Divided France


Do the French riots point to a racially divided France, or a culturally divided France?




VILLIERS-LE-BEL, France (AP) - French officials point to a host of causes—poverty, unemployment, the influence of criminal gangs—for riots that erupted this week.

But there's one taboo issue that officially colorblind France has been unable to confront: race.

The violence, like riots that spread nationwide for three weeks in exposed how parts of France have divided along color lines, with blacks and Arabs trapped in the most disadvantaged neighborhoods—like Villiers-le-Bel, in the northern suburbs of Paris, where gangs attacked police and burned cars and buildings this week.

The rioters are a tiny minority but sullen anger is palpable in Villiers-le-Bel. Black youths complain that police stop and search them because of their color. They speak of exclusion, of not getting a fair shake, of being treated like foreigners in their own country.

Few residents condone the violence and many condemn it—but no one seems surprised that it broke out.

"Everyone is equal. That is what is written. But behind that is something else," said Hassan Ben M'Barek, spokesman for Suburbs Respect, a group that lobbies for those who live in disadvantaged neighborhoods.

In some such areas of the Paris region, "there are no white French people left in the streets. You can drive around for two or three hours and all you will see are North Africans and blacks. And these are neighborhoods with enormous problems," he added.

"Those who have the means to leave the projects are white, and they leave. There's no more ethnic diversity."

It was impossible not to see the violence in Villiers-le-Bel in black and white terms.


Of course, we know the rioters are Muslims.

So, is it the fact that they are black and Arab? Or, is it that they are Muslims?

Or, is it that the government doesn't provide enough in the way of benefits?

2 comments:

Epaminondas said...

Why did the white people leave?
Chicken or the egg.

'Empowering' a ghetto is not a solution, even if this has NOTHING to do with Islam.

In the US when inner city rebuilding brought back a mix of incomes, THEN there was a move towards a solution. (There can never be a real solution since lack of opportunity can only be worked on, never eliminated)

But in the US there IS real social and professional mobility.

Is there in France? For those children whose parents were cynically brought in from 1973 on as though they should have been grateful uneducated slobs?

I hope there is, but I can't answer this question.

Of course if 'whites' left because of continuous pressure towards sharia, head covering for dhimmis, etc, only the application of the law (which makes that illegal in France) will set the ground for a possible solution to be begun. If the law is not enforced, perhaps the USA's next mass immigration will not be what Pat Buchanan fears

Pastorius said...

I understand you are only trying to make a point. However, I have no doubt these riots are primarily motivated by Islamic thinking.

That is not to say that all the rioters are Muslims. Let me be clear about that.

But, I'll give you an example. A few years back there were reports coming out of England that "Asians" were rioting. I said to my wife, "WTF is this? Asians rioting? What do Asians riot about? Did the fee for a liquor store liscence go up again?"

Point is, in America "Asian" means Chinese, Viet Namese, Korean, etc. All of us who live with such people know they, as a rule, do not riot. They are too busy working their asses off. So, I knew instantly that these "Asians" who were rioting in the UK were like no Asians I had ever met.

It took several days before the media admitted that the "Asians" to whom they were referring were primarily Pakistanis.

Well, then I understood and everyone else understood. Sure, I've known Muslims in my life. And, of course, I've seen them on TV as well. When Muslims are discontented they riot and cause trouble.

What other group of people behaves like that?

The French, but that's another matter entirely.

:)