[QUOTE=Daeron the Nerfherder]Lots of close-minded francophobia going on in this thread. Almost as sad to watch from the side as the bridge thread during the summer (OMG... FRENCH FROGGIE BRIDGE.... I BET IT'LL SURRENDER LOLLOLLLOLL!)
Don't jump to conclusions... You need to distinguish the French people from the French Administration, the current line-up of which is the least popular in decades.
French authorities really don't treat its immigrant population very well (especially the obviously non-caucasian ones). To wit, news coverage showing a french policeman calling a woman in a hijab a "ninja"... The people rioting aren't immigrants, and they aren't exclusively muslim. They're children of immigrants who have been screwed-over by the French system.
Most "immigrants" (including the muslim ones, but Eastern European (Polish, Czech, etc.) or Mediterranean too) that live in France are third or fourth generation immigrants. Lots of European countries were "importing" labour through bi-lateral treaties with countries such as Italy, Morocco, Algeria, Senegal, and Turkey in the 1960's. They were brought over, stuck in the coal mines or other jobs the locals wouldn't do anymore and that was it.
Gradually the flow of immigrants was stopped but there was a failure to actually make an effort to integrate those who stayed. They brought over their family or started one here and each generation since has had a hard time.
Poor quality of education, high drop-out rate, high unemployment. The ones that make it and get a degree are then discriminated against and have a hard time getting a job. The ones that don't, well, if they're lucky they have a familymember with a kebab or crêpe stand.
Also, just because Chiraq's the democratically elected president doesn't mean that he's unpopular. He's really unpopular across the whole front of the population. Probably the most hated (and corrupt, as well as decadent) head of state in the EU by his own people except for Silvio Berlusconi (Who, along with Italy, didn't catch much flak from conservative Americans since he, really unpopularly, went along in Iraq, all until the friendly fire death of the Italian Intelligence Agent).
The whole situation with the riots should be somewhat familiar to the Britassians here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/november/25/newsid_2546000/2546233.stm
Ask your parents. And put on The Clash's Guns of Brixton, because it's a great song.
For the record, yes, I like France, the nation, the culture, art, history, music, literature, philosophy, and the people. I dislike Chiraq and his cronies. Oh, but in some of your eyes I'm probably tainted from living in neighbouring Luxembourg for practically the first 10 years of my life, being nearly literate and fluent in French, and then living all but three years of the rest of my life (spent in New York), within the borders of the EU.[/QUOTE]
Phew, a single post that isn't nonsensically anti-French (or just generally nonsensical.. Obi..).
But anyway, surely part of France's problem is its long reluctance to integrate immigrants into French culture? The French government has for some time been officially 'blind' to ethnicity (there are no institutions or anything that even gather statistics on ethnic groups). It does seem like an excellent idea in trying to avoid the racial conflicts that the US has experienced, with individuals being judged soley on personal merit, but somehow the effort has never had enough pressure behind it and immigrants still experience a worse quality of life than everyone else.
The Anglo-American model of 'multicultural' immigration certainly isn't without its problems (as all the civil rights movements of the 20th century can attest to), but the French model seems to have spawned a whole host of totally different problems too..
It's somewhat ironic that the most radical of public officials that are most likely to bring about positive change, like Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin, are also the ones most slated by rioters. If de Villepin isn't able to resolve this conflict, it may well further polarise the population and give apparent substance to people like Le Pen (whose campaign was generally based on urban crime and violence).
