The world looks on in horror at the riots in the suburbs of Paris - but most residents are unsurprised. It wasn't uncommon for 40-50 cars to be torched prior to the globally publicized riots. The catalyst was the unintentional electrouction of two young North African boys aged 15 & 17 - chased into an electrical sub-station in Clichy-sous-Bois by overzealous police.
Those familiar with the conditions in the Paris suburbs have been expecting this for some time. Blacks and Arabs have been segregated to the Parisian suburbs with a 40% unemployment, predatory police, sub-standard schools, inadequate housing (in 2004, 100,000+ people applied for 12,000 subsidized housing slots in Paris). A suburban zip code, a Muslim name, a dark face on a resume (In the EU, it is not uncommon for pictures to accompany a resume) preclude any opportunities for even an interview.
Just as it is illegal to discriminate on the basis of race in the U.S., it is the same in France. It occurs regardless. The discrimination in France is palpable on many levels. There are no non-white faces on French tv, in the shops, hotels, or nightclubs. Blacks and Arabs face a disproportionate It is disgusting. It is tolerated. I wonder if France is not humiliated by these riots of their own making.
1 comment:
Does this sound familiar?!?!?!
It appears as though the white privileged French are experiencing a similar outpouring of racial upset and disgust from many Northern Africans that are similar to the race riots the US has endured over time. I wonder if the US is done with race riots...with the racial antagonism that continues in the great US of A, it appears as though race riots loom large on the horizon.
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