The
French Dilemma
She walks down the street,
eyes downcast and hands forever adjusting her scarf against swirling winds. Her
pace quickens past the bus stop when she hears someone yelling, “Go back to
where you came from, paki!” Part of her wants to put them in their place, but
she knows, that will only bring more trouble. Resolutely defeated, she walks on
with tears in her eyes.
Such racist encounters
faced by people of colour are becoming the norm these days, particularly in
European countries, including France.
 |
| University graduates protesting against racism in France [ http://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2013/05/89860/foreign-graduates-accuse-france-of-racism/ ] |
According to its 1958
Constitution, it is said that “France is an indivisible, secular, democratic
and social republic that assures equality in front of the law for all citizens,
regardless of origins, race or religion.”
Such care was duly given
to ensure fairness is maintained; however, it is now apparent that it comes at
a cost, as France only recognizes rights in context of citizenship and human
characterization and does not take into consideration cultural and minority
stakes within the larger framework of nation building.
As a result, racism has
taken root in a community that is often made to choose between two differing
camps of what it means to be a French citizen. This state of being ‘caught in
the middle’ has also created nuances of racism and colourism stemming from
prejudice and anger of having to share the same ‘label’.
“It (racism) initially starts
with stereotyping and judgement that my people go through such as seen as lazy,”
says Anaïs Capo-Chichi from Grenoble, France, when asked about racism and
stereotyping of the black community in France.
As if to echo such words,
the Council of Europe’s 2015 report has stated that France is indeed becoming
more racist and intolerant towards religious and ethnic minorities.
The damning findings came
out a month after the Charlie Hebdo shooting and is reminiscent of targeted
racism acts such as the Dreyfus Affair of 1894, where Jewish groups were
condemned, the African Slave Trade of 1674, with King Louis XIV setting up the
Black Code that echoed American Slavery terms as well as the more recent Hijab
Ban Law of 2004 which, instead of quelling misconceptions about French Muslims
towards their French counterparts, allowed for further inroads regarding
racism.
“You just become so paranoid,
because you cannot see it and you don’t understand why such things are
happening to you, it is that subtle,” continues Capo-Chichi when asked about
her own experience with racism.
 |
| Moslem women walking past hate graffiti [ http://www.worldbulletin.net/haber/158021/france-to-allow-class-actions-against-racism ] |
The consequences of this
is that the quality of life in France is fast becoming unbalanced for certain
groups of people, as the country is evidently becoming more secularly racist. This
notion was further cemented when the Washington Post ran an article about the
increase of racist comments by French political leaders against minority
groups.
The suggestion that
racism is taught and therefore can be dismantled through the education of the
future generation seems to be one way racism can be eradicated. “I firmly
believe it’s the subtle things we do that teaches our kids to be racist and the
judgmental attitudes and perception towards people of colour. That needs to
stop,” Capo-Chichi added.
The road to a more
informed and tolerant France certainly will be affected by Brexit from the European Union, as the United Kingdom is possibly
set to become a more closed community; a breeding ground for collective racism
due to no checks kept in place. The effect of this on France, due to being the UK’s
nearest neighbor, remains to be seen. Until then, for the people of colour in
France, as Samuel L. Jackson would famously say regarding the usage of the ‘N’
word for the Black community, “Hey, it’s just another Tuesday for us.”
