Re-enacting the french revolution

TOPE ORIOLA STAFF

Is the French Revolution of 1789-99 about to be re-enacted in France? Last year, France was beset by a gargantuan wave of violence following the death of two teenagers of immigrant parents. They were believed to have been chased to their death by policemen in a suburb of Paris. “More than 10,000 cars were set ablaze and 300 buildings firebombed” in last year’s unrest, according to the BBC. This year, the anniversary of the death of the two teenagers is being marked with more outpour of anger. At the last count, 200 vehicles have been burnt and several buses were similarly attacked. What is the problem with French society? What has gone wrong with the once world’s undisputed major centre of learning, reputed to have entered into the “scientific stage” since 1900, according to Auguste Comte?

France indeed prides itself in what is in reality a gamble: equality, liberty and fraternity. Prior to the French Revolution, the monarchy and aristocracy were noted to be reckless in the handling of finances, failing to provide for the everyday needs of the people and engaged in wars that had no direct relevance to the lives of the French masses. The American War of Independence is a case in point. Louis XIV who prided himself as the “Sun-King” of France had colourless successors. By the time Louis XVI mounted the throne, the monarchy was a beehive of tragedies waiting to happen. The rest, as they say, is history.

Three centuries after that tragic yet historic event, which changed the face of several governments and academic disciplines forever, France may be heading for a recast of the revolution; this time the dramatis personae would be immigrant youths and not the masses in general. Apparently, France has not made much progress in addressing some of the concerns of 300 years ago. The 2005 riots were attributed to “high unemployment, racial discrimination and youth alienation from mainstream society.” Immigrant youths are once again reminding the French authorities that they should be included in the scheme of things in France.

While I do not agree with the methodology of the rampaging youths, I do sympathize with the frustrations of the French youths resident in the periphery of Paris and other major cities, just as they are at the sidelines of the society. On a Silverbird television broadcast in Lagos, Nigeria during the 2005 riots, one

of the youths said he was participating in the carnage because of the absence of people he could identify with in the media and the portrayal of French people of Muslim and North African origins as unemployable crooks.

It is a shame that youths would feel so alienated from society. The remedy surely is not in deploying more troops — the usual conservative law-and-order approach. The selective excesses of law enforcement officials led to this crisis in the first instance. What is needed is a deliberate effort to invite the youths from the suburbs to a roundtable to formally present their grievances. A minister in France once complained that the French soccer team at the 2006 World Cup was not “French” enough, a tacit reference to the high number of descendants of Arab and black immigrants on the team. I hope this is a minority line of thought in government circles. If not, France may be on the verge of becoming an Iraq or Afghanistan of Europe.

Already, there are reports that the riots are affecting tourism and other businesses, according to Reuters. This may be a tip of the iceberg unless the real issues are addressed. Many of the first set of immigrants came on the invitation of the French authorities at the end of the Second World War. Most of the alienated youths were born and raised in France and have nowhere else to call home. Treating them like some unwanted garbage is not in the interest of everyone. One “solution” is to do what Slobodan Milosevic tried and failed — ethnic cleansing — another solution is to ensure that they are well-integrated into the society. The latter will approximate the French tenets of equality, liberty and fraternity. The idea of tolerance is degrading; full-fledged integration is it.

The ongoing crisis in France should be observed by all countries of multi-ethnic composition. Unless there is an official policy like multiculturalism in all its ramifications, as the Canadian government has (happily) been enforcing with credible results (though there’s room for improvement), such spates of violence, though highly condemnable, are inevitable.

As France totters on the brink of avoidable disaster, battling to comprehend the descent of youths to violence, I hope common sense will be allowed to prevail rather than ethnic chauvinism. I hope they will remember that all major crises in the world begin in such a simple, seemingly innocuous manner. Let us allow rationality to prevail now lest the amphitheatre of war shifts to France.