Many at FR are posting their own angst and fears about Islam on that which most do not understand, or care to, into an over-simplistic matrix of their own construction. Some poster, as a critique, suggested when this is over, the French will just go about living their own lives as if nothing had happened. What should they do? One only lives once. But French governmental policy should change. It must admit it has an underclass, like the American black ghettos of the past, now rather rapidly being dismantled, and get candid and serious about it.
If you remove the reference to Mexicans in your post, I suspect that taking undesirable jobs at low wages, is what most of any of our own immigrant ancestors did at different points of time in our history.
It didn't lead to class warfare.
Torie and Ivan,
Do you or anyone else remember the young French conservative girl that was posting occasionally on FR two years ago. As I remember, her screen name was her own name or the one that she used in political circles and she was supportive of US action at the time of the Iraq invasion as well as leading demonstrations in France.
It would be interesting to find her on the web and see what she and her compatriots are saying about the current happenings.
These "underclass youth" of Muslim/North African origin may not be jihadists. But I suspect that some jihadists may be fanning the flames or maybe even instigating the entire thing.
All one has to do is look at the events with Syria and Iran in recent weeks and the newly-hatched positions the French are starting to take on Iran and Syria.
The Iranian ambassador to France, Sadegh Kharrazi, was summoned to the French Foreign Ministry on Thursday morning and asked for "clarifications" of the remarks by Ahmadinejad.
The ambassador "was reminded that the right of Israel to exist cannot be contested. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict cannot serve as a pretext for calling into question this fundamental right," French Foreign Ministry spokesman Jean-Baptiste Mattei said. "The ambassador took note of this demarche and indicated that he would report it to his authorities."
Foreign Minister Philip Douste-Blazy told parliament that if Iran did not return to negotiations with the so-called EU-3 (France, Britain and Germany) on the issue, "then there will be firmness and there will be a return to (IAEA director Mohamed) ElBaradei's report to the United Nations Security Council."
As I said above: These "underclass youth" of Muslim/North African origin may not be jihadists. But I suspect that some jihadists may be fanning the flames or maybe even instigating the entire thing.
The "American black ghettos" have been replaced. France isn't the only government that needs some change in policies and to admit it is creating an underclass.
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"One of government’s chief responsibilities is to help Texans with the greatest needs. The Secretary of State’s Ombudsman Program is a central part of our initiatives to assist needy Texans living in colonias. The program is helping to provide better roads, bring water and wastewater infrastructure to areas that lack these basic services, and improve the quality of life for some of Texas’ neediest citizens." - Governor Rick Perry
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Texas Secretary of State's Definition: The term "colonia," in Spanish means a community or neighborhood. The Office of the Secretary of State defines a "colonia" as a residential area along the Texas-Mexico border that may lack some of the most basic living necessities, such as potable water and sewer systems, electricity, paved roads, and safe and sanitary housing. n recent years the Texas-Mexico border region has experienced an explosion of growth in population and industrial activity. Although growth has resulted in economic opportunities, it has also intensified the environmental health and social challenges. Among the border states, Texas has the largest number of colonias approximately 1,800 communities, with more than 500,000 residents. Sixty-five percent of all residents, and 85% of residents under the age of 18, were born in the United States. (aka Anchor babies) These Americans live in extreme poverty and often are unaware of the services that the United States and Texas can provide for them. Education is a key to addressing the problems faced by colonia residents, but reaching out to these communities poses unique challenges that require unique approaches.
Ninety-eight percent of the residents are Hispanic and speak little or no English.
(see photos - http://www-apps.niehs.nih.gov/outreach-education/News/spotarch/spot0503.cfm)
Your was the most intelligent and cogent Anglo-Saxon post I have read to date.
It is true: what is happening in France is about social exclusion.
It is also true that France SHOULD change.
Being something of an Anglo-Saxon myself, I recognize that the vault key to the whole thing lies in LABOR LAW. France's labor laws are so restrictive that all French business are emaciated in personnel, and use automation for everything that can be automated. Either that, or they simply make customers wait. The long afternoon of pleasant coffee at a cafe, during which everyone who cares to can smoke a whole pack of cigarettes (and most do) is not because everyone really wants to take an hour to drink a cup of coffee. It is because there is one waiter, and he will work all day, and no more will be hired no matter how busy, because the cost of an extra waiter is permanent, and you cannot ever get rid of him. In France, to hire an employee is to marry him.
This, of course, is ridiculous. It, more than any other thing in the structure of the country, is the reason the French private sector is hamstrung and cannot create jobs.
France's medical care and pension regime is pretty enlightened, and cheaper per capita than the American model. There is much that is admirable and reasonable in French business law. But it all comes apart at the seams when one comes to the part about employing people to do things. Then, suddenly, it is impossible.
It is also impossible, at present, to change the labor law, because it is fiercely protected by small, highly organized Communist unions, and by the willingness of the whole population to go on general strike in defense of it.
Sadly, that means that - in effect - nothing can be done except at the margins. Those same HLM used to be filled with Portuguese, when they were built, and they were not tinderboxes of crime then. But the Portuguese got jobs (the economy was booming then) and moved to other apartments which are not, truly, very different from the HLM.
There are cultural features involved, which resist legislation. In particular, French whites are unlikely to want to hire Beurs or Blacks for responsible positions. In America, direct affirmative action legislation bludgeoned down barriers to work and effectively imposed quotas, but in France direct affirmative action is too violative of the principles of equality under the law for the people to accept it.
In America, the large black unemployed class was partly absorbed by massively expanding the size of the government civil service at all levels. In France, the government sector is already arguably too large, and it would be expensive, in a tight budget, to even attempt to hire all the Beurs.
And so, in a nutshell, since labor law cannot be reformed at present, the Beurs cannot really be put to work. Which means the police will be present until the riots burn themselves out, and the government will then claim that law and order prevailed. The Beurs will be more closely watched and confined in their neighborhoods, and more excluded. And the cycle will repeat itself in a few years.
Someday, labor law will be made much more liberal, and when that happens, there will be employment in the private sector as the economy grows, and in the public sector to build the infrastructure for and regulate the burgeoning private economy.
Until then, there will be cycles of riots followed by further despair.