Most middle- and upper-class people going to New Orleans saw the fun side of a city with deep cultural and aesthetic roots. “Laissez les bon temps rouler!” is not just said during Mardi Gras, but throughout the year. They “let the good times roll” while just a few blocks away from the famous French Quarter, black and poor people lived in abject poverty.
When Hurricane Katrina snatched the covers off one of America’s dirty secrets, the French government shook an admonishing finger at its ally for its hypocrisy in extolling equal rights for all while treating its own residents as second-class citizens.
For the last couple of weeks, France got a taste of its own medicine.
For those of us of African descent in the U.S., the news of rebellions sounded all too familiar. We instinctively understood the outrage that quickly took to the streets in the Parisian suburbs, destroying property and lives. We came to hear more about the conditions of those in the streets as time went on and as the unrest and destruction began to spread across France.
The first familiar ring of the rebellions was the flashpoint death of two youth being chased by police. The youth of North African descent were electrocuted when they sought refuge in an electric power station. Police brutality is often the spark of rebellions in this country.
Racism, denial of basic human rights, lack of political power – all are the incendiary ingredients of an inevitable explosion. In France, there is not a single black, Muslim or Arab in Parliament. Unlike the U.S. and Britain, France has no pretense of affirmative action because it doesn’t recognize its ethnic minorities.
Also familiar to us of color in the U.S., blacks and Muslims are relegated to ghettos called banlieues. They look a lot like American projects.
Racism prevents any significant resources being allocated to improve the lives of African and Arab immigrants. Unemployment for these French citizens is 40 percent compared to the national average of 10 percent. A recent French study revealed that even the educated immigrants are held back. Applicants with Muslim names were 5 times more likely to get their job applications rejected than their white French counterparts.
Like here in America, where we are told to fit into the mainstream, the second-class citizens of France are in the “main” kept from the “stream.” Attempts to get into the stream are met with resistance and hostility. Non-white French citizens are socially, racially, politically and economically isolated. About three weeks ago, the boiling point was reached.
And just like in American rebellions, the outbursts produced results. Money has now been allocated to upgrade schools and provide job training. Urban renewal of the French ghettoes has been put on a fast track. These are the basic human rights that had been asked for all along in a non-violent way but fell on deaf ears and blind eyes.
It didn’t help that French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy called the angry citizens “scum.” It is a sentiment echoed in France by those holding on to their white skin privilege. Their view was captured on T-shirts that emerged during the rebellions, reading “La France: Je l’aime ou je la quitte.” France: Love it or leave it.
It is a theme song that black folks in this country have had sung to them for a very long time.