France, like the USA, is a nation characterized by lofty ideals. ‘All men are created equal’ was the bold claim of America’s founding fathers. France’s revolutionary vision of ‘liberté, égalité, fraternité’ has inspired millions around the world.
But America’s history of slavery and racial discrimination illustrates our difficulty in matching rhetoric with reality. The social and economic divisions in our cities today are direct consequences. France faces similar, though different, challenges. A generation of youth of Arab and African heritage are venting their rage on a society that has excluded them from mainstream life. It is not a ‘civil war’ as some media voices have suggested, but even President Chirac now speaks of a ‘profound malaise’ and a ‘crisis of identity.’
It would be a mistake to equate France’s crisis with America’s deep-seated pathology of racial division and poverty. A generous social safety net ensures that the unemployed and poor are fed, housed and educated. And even in the most desolate suburbs, there is nothing approaching the level of violence in America’s inner cities. An email from a Parisian friend emphasizes the tremendous achievements of many North Africans: ‘The vast majority are well integrated, have good jobs and every reason to feel proud. Not all French are racists and stubborn, and most are getting along very well together!’
True, but during a visit to Paris in June I found an urgent desire for dialogue about the gap between great ideals and daily reality as experienced by citizens – particularly those who have come from other continents and cultures. As a businessman of African origin said, ‘In France, everyone has a place but everyone must keep in his place…we have a caste system based on race and class.’ There are no black or Arab TV presenters and all members of parliament from mainland France are white. Unemployment for North African university graduates is 26.5% compared with 5% for all graduates.
None of this should give the rest of Europe cause for complacency. In fact, the French offer of full citizenship to immigrants was laudable, and stands in stark contrast to that of Germany which adopted a ‘guest worker’ policy and has only recently – and grudgingly – begun to move beyond a concept of national identity based on bloodlines. Perhaps because the expectation in France was so high the disappointment has been so deep. The youth who are burning cars – most of them second generation citizens – are not seeking to be recognized as minorities. They are demanding to be acknowledged as fully French.
Trevor Phillips, chairman of Britain’s Commission on Racial Equality, notes that the violence in Paris is a warning to the whole of Europe. Everywhere, he says, smugness is being punctured. ‘In the 1970s and 1980s, industrial relations marked a tense dividing line in Western societies. Disputes periodically erupted into dangerous and even violent confrontation… that menaced and sometimes brought down governments. Race relations threaten to become a similarly potent battlefront.’
Alain Touraine, an expert on integration, says the problem is not poverty. He calls for public debate to ‘break down stereotypes.’ Fortunately some dialogues have begun. I met with a group known as Initiative Dialogue in which French Muslims from different backgrounds and representatives of the majority population engage in forthright but respectful exchanges. The group has been meeting for several years, reaching out to their neighbors and building bridges of friendship. ‘There is a belief that if you create a law you are helping integration,’ said one participant. ‘It’s not true; you have to do it at the grassroots.’
Respect and trust are not the fruit of legislation or state mandate. They are the responsibility of every citizen.
This month, a young colleague is piloting an ‘education for peace’ project in a school in a suburb involved in the riots. It aims to sensitize the pupils to the importance of personal responsibility in solving conflicts. ‘We want to give them tools which help to avoid violence when facing a difficult situation,’ says Laurence Le Moing. ‘That means acknowledging the different forms of violence, and discovering that dialogue, listening, respect, and individual change are the basis of a peace culture.’
Another potentially important conversation – in which the city of Nantes is taking a lead – concerns France’s role in the transatlantic slave trade and its colonial history, especially in Algeria. Acknowledging the wrongs of the past is an essential foundation on which to build new relationships for the future.
As the world makes its home in our cities, new tensions emerge. It will be important to listen to all voices and respect the story of every individual. America and France have much to learn from each other in this work of honest conversation.
NOTE: Individuals of many cultures, nationalities, religions, and beliefs are actively involved with Initiatives of Change. These commentaries represent the views of the writer and not necessarily those of Initiatives of Change as a whole.
English