The Barbarians at the Gates of Paris (The Underclass in France)

City Journal ^ | Fall 2002 | Theodore Dalrymple

[mountaineer]

I should have mentioned the guy I saw the Paris cops take into custody was black. He was gesticulating wildly, in an attitude of "hey, I didn't do nothing," and the gendarmes weren't having any of it. His companion, also black, started to intervene when he realized he'd be next if he didn't shut up, so he did.

[ecomcon]

Thanks for the ping Dennis-

Bump, Bump, Bump.

PC France is doomed to a future of either a strong man takeover or Islamic conquest. Will we prevent the same from happening here in the US?

We'd better start winning some big ones, starting yesterday.

[aculeus]

Europe = HMS Titanic ping.

[Orual]

Thanks much for the ping. Very good article.

Architecturally, the housing projects sprang from the ideas of Le Corbusier the Swiss totalitarian architect.

Unite d'Habitation, Le Corbusier

Never heard of a "totalitarian architect" before and am not quite sure what that means, but it does seem ridiculous to heap blame on him and the style of the housing for the conditions the author describes in chilling detail.

[general_re]

Never heard of a "totalitarian architect" before and am not quite sure what that means, but it does seem ridiculous to heap blame on him and the style of the housing for the conditions the author describes in chilling detail.

Albert Speer? I once heard, and I wish I could recall where, that sort of Soviet-style apartment building described as "stack-a-prole" flats.

“But don’t you know where you are, monsieur?” they asked. “C’est la Zone, c’est la Zone.”

La Zone is a foreign country: they do things differently there.

Perhaps the only sensible thing for the French to do, then, is to abandon these foreign possessions altogether, and give up on this sort of neo-colonialism. Eventually, France can be reduced to a sort of medieval city-state, and preserved as a museum dedicated to the French culture that used to exist - when they've been pushed back entirely inside the walls of Paris by their conquerors, that is...

[aculeus]

Some people own Le Corbusier's chair or (like me) a cheap knockoff.

(Never had a totalitarian thought while sitting.)

[robowombat]

Yes, the Slintoonians awarded Red Paul a posthumous 'Pesidential medal of Freedom'. The irony of a high profile crypto-commie and Stalin stooge getting such an award was lost on the lamestream media. Robeson was a disgrace. In an era when there were very few black Americans with national prescence he was an international celebrity. His musical talents and intelligence were of a high order. To what end did he apply them? He became a lapdog of Stalin's regime ever ready to put his name or voice to work supporting the latest commie propaganda campaign, including the fabricated allegations that the US conducted biowarfare in Korea. Robeson merits execration down to the latest hour of our history. He is in that class of Americans that contains Benedict Arnold, John Wilkes Booth, and the Rosenbergs. Unfortunatly the liberal luminati have turned him into a pc icon and official historical victim of evil racist Amerikan kulture.

[Hobsonphile]

Ping!

[LaBelleDameSansMerci]

What an amazing article. Thank you for taking the trouble to post it. Many thoughts but too chaotic to respond meaningfully....

[LaBelleDameSansMerci]

"...Never heard of a "totalitarian architect" before and am not quite sure what that means, but it does seem ridiculous to heap blame on him and the style of the housing for the conditions the author describes in chilling detail...

Does it? Have you ever walked through one of these progressive lodging communities?

I would be very interested to read what you have say just after you emerge.

Nothing reflects the spiritual order--or disorder--of a civilization as clearly as its architechture. You could not fail to comprehend the underlying view of human beings that inspired the architect--and the society that embraced his aesthetic.

[LaBelleDameSansMerci]

"...Eventually, France can be reduced to a sort of medieval city-state, and preserved as a museum dedicated to the French culture that used to exist - when they've been pushed back entirely inside the walls of Paris by their conquerors, that is..."

Unlike us proud, brave and free Americans desperately trying to avoid the crosshairs by serpentining across the parking lot towards the safety of the shadows....

[LaBelleDameSansMerci]

"... I've seen those big housing projects, from a distance, and had the feeling that they were little more than immigrant ghettos. The French are so..........words escape me...."

.......so very, very American?

[general_re]

Moving from the specific to the general like that has a nasty habit of leading one astray. In this case, your analogy is inapt....

[B-Chan]

The Camp of the Saints

[Gritty]

Great article.

The French need to get a life and concentrate on "Celebrate Diversity!".

That should solve their problems. It obviously is the answer to ours....

[Orual]

You could not fail to comprehend the underlying view of human beings that inspired the architect--and the society that embraced his aesthetic.

Nonsense. Le Corbusier was not a "totalitarian architect" and blaming the house one lives in for barbaric behavior is Psychobabble 101. Explain the criminals who live in Southampton mansions or on the beach at Malibu or in very nice, middle-class homes in the suburbs. Were their homes too nice for them so they turned to crime and evil behavior because of that? Or explain those who have the moral and ethical values to rise above their humble beginnings to attain status and position and become contributing, valuable citizens. It is not the house, that's just a convenient excuse invented by the "don't-blame-me" crowd.

The author points out that these immigrants are living 100 times better than they did in their own country. They are certainly not poor, at least by the standards of all previously existing societies: they are not hungry; they have cell phones, cars, and many other appurtenances of modernity; they are dressed fashionably—according to their own fashion—with a uniform disdain of bourgeois propriety and with gold chains round their necks. They believe they have rights, and they know they will receive medical treatment, however they behave. They enjoy a far higher standard of living (or consumption) than they would in the countries of their parents’ or grandparents’ origin, even if they labored there 14 hours a day to the maximum of their capacity.

One must assume that they want it all and they want it all without the responsibility of working for it. I lived in Africa for three years and am very familiar with the local housing there. If you look at the apartment house that I posted that Le Cobusier designed, trust me, that's a palace compared to what these immigrants lived in at home.

[MattinNJ]

BTTT

[desertcry]

What's happening in France is exactly what one can expect when liberals take over. The reason is liberals are self - centered, just like the clintons. Their attitude: Take all of other people's money, but leave mine alone. Demand that Joe, John, Bob, ..... take care, and solve the problems of the society, but don't bother me with it. Let other people do the hard work, so I can feel good about it..........

[MaggieMay]

Imigrant Rumanians wheither in France or America bring with them muti-million dollar social problems. The social experiment has blown up. The US needs to keep these people in their native countries and as best we can encourage democracy. The US does not have the resources to move them to this country.