Paris brûle-t-il? Is Paris burning?
Apparently, it is. And having observed how immigrants are treated in France I'm not surprised. Not that I think the recent outbreaks of street violence is going to improve things; quite the opposite, I'm afraid. French governments (of any colour) are not well-known for their flexibility and imaginativeness. The protesters/hoodlums will not doubt be dealt with according to French tradition: more stick than carrot.
Going by car in the French countryside can be an experience full of delight. Small restaurants serve good food at reasonable prices, the local wine is always... well, interesting, and there is always cheese after the main course. The hotels you find with the help of your Guide Michelin (or Guide Rouge as they want to re-brand themselves) are most of the times worth the money.
Taking the Metro out to one of the suburbs (and I'm not talking only Paris here) can be another story altogether. And a sometimes perilous journey. Recently a South Korean TV-journalist was attacked as she tried to protect her cameraman from an assault. She is presently in hospital.
Any society that excludes large groups of people, whether for religious, racist, political or other reasons, will find itself in trouble sooner or later. (Note to smug White House-types: this is true on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean). The trouble in the big French cities is in fact long overdue. Even the tourists in France can see the police stopping cars along the country roads: only Arab-looking drivers are stopped and their papers checked. The kids in the back seats get the message from very early years. France is not their society.
And there are figures to prove that impression. Unemployment statistics, prison statistics etc. As long as the figures don't change, the frustrated hoodlums of the suburbs will continue burning cars.
PS: Orson Welles played the diplomat Raoul Nordling in the 1966 American/French co-production "Paris brûle-t-il?". The former Swedish Consul General to Paris, Nordling is the man credited for saving Paris from Hitler's order to torch the city.
Going by car in the French countryside can be an experience full of delight. Small restaurants serve good food at reasonable prices, the local wine is always... well, interesting, and there is always cheese after the main course. The hotels you find with the help of your Guide Michelin (or Guide Rouge as they want to re-brand themselves) are most of the times worth the money.
Taking the Metro out to one of the suburbs (and I'm not talking only Paris here) can be another story altogether. And a sometimes perilous journey. Recently a South Korean TV-journalist was attacked as she tried to protect her cameraman from an assault. She is presently in hospital.
Any society that excludes large groups of people, whether for religious, racist, political or other reasons, will find itself in trouble sooner or later. (Note to smug White House-types: this is true on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean). The trouble in the big French cities is in fact long overdue. Even the tourists in France can see the police stopping cars along the country roads: only Arab-looking drivers are stopped and their papers checked. The kids in the back seats get the message from very early years. France is not their society.
And there are figures to prove that impression. Unemployment statistics, prison statistics etc. As long as the figures don't change, the frustrated hoodlums of the suburbs will continue burning cars.
PS: Orson Welles played the diplomat Raoul Nordling in the 1966 American/French co-production "Paris brûle-t-il?". The former Swedish Consul General to Paris, Nordling is the man credited for saving Paris from Hitler's order to torch the city.
posted by Pelle at Tuesday, November 08, 2005
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