France to Deport Non-Citizen Rioters as Violence Wanes
France has announced it will deport foreigners arrested for rioting, whether they are in the country legally or not, according to a UPI story on Science Daily. At the same time, the violence has started to lessen in the wake of curfews in many towns and cities, reports Xinhua.
Meanwhile, the racial tensions and civil unrest seem to have revived anti-France sentiment and accusations of racism. In the France Rioting Starting to Slow Down blog post, Matt Z. posted the comment, "Most of the media are afraid to call it for what it is, the start of the intafada of Europe." In the France Riots Spread to 300 Towns, K. Bezies wrote, "I experienced discrimination for the first time in my life while living in France and I know how the rioters feel. I desperately wanted to work, having had a career in financial services back home ... I was blatantly told that jobs in France were for French people only."
And on this blog post, Ed M. states, "It is a sad commentary on society when problems like this arise anywhere. However, due to the nasty French attitude towards the US not only due to the Iraq War but in many other areas also, I read the news of their problems with a little bit of glee."
At another blog site, a San Franciscan in Paris talks about his experiences in St. Denis, the epicenter of the riots.
What are your thoughts? Click on the "comments" link at the bottom of this post to sound off.
In my poll on the issue, the gap has widened between voters who still plan to visit France and those who will avoid it now. Twice as many people said they will definitely not visit France as have voted that they will.
If you love France, but the recent riots have spooked you from visiting, be sure to consider traveling to some of the U.S. destinations in my article, Finding France in the Americas.
Tags: Paris riots, France riots, Muslim, France travel, News.
Comments
Two weeks ago, we spent the day in St Denis - the Paris suburb at the center of the current riots. The buildings are a bit run down but the neighborhood is bustling - we toured the church of St Denis (see here), then had a wonderful lunch couscous with spicy Merguez sausage.
After lunch we strolled through the crowded market streets of St Denis, which featured street vendors roasting corn over charcoal stoves and shops selling honey-covered pastries surrounded by swarms of people and (no kidding) bees. During the day, it felt like walking through the mission district of San Francisco - exotic, a bit dirty but safe.
It’s no different than any other political battle, except perhaps to the extent that modern communications enhance the ability of the dissidents to organize.
As a liberal, its clear to me that changes must be made to give some place in the French society to those who are cut out of it. Chirac sees that and I take his word that is not just lip service.
But to the rank and file Frenchman or French person, who is already struggling with high unemployment and the need to be more economically progressive (which is clashing with the traditonal French way of life), it will be a hard sell, to give up jobs to people they view as foreigners. So, there is no easy fix.
We have a place in Cannes and we visit it maybe three times a year so we get to know the people in our neighborhood. These are people working in the service and tourist industry. They are very hard working and industrious–long hours. I have a lot of respect for them. Not sure how they make a satisfactory living giving the cost of living on the Cote D’Azur. But they talk about these youths who can’t get jobs or who can’t fit in and its doesn’t seem like its a high priority to change.
Jeffrey Fisher