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Economic and social issues
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Some
basic facts about recent immigration
- France has always been a
country of immigration. The most recent waves are the Poles
and the Italians before WW2, the Spaniards and Portuguese in
the 1950s-1960s, the North-Africans in the 1960s, the Asians
in the 1970s and the West-Africans in the 1970s-1980s. (see figures).
In 1999, 23% of French citizens had at least one parent or grand-parent
who had been an immigrant to France (source : INED).
- Conversely, the French have
never emigrated in large numbers, except for the Huguenots
at the end of the XVIIth century.
- In the 1960s, in a booming economy,
French manufacturers (for example in the car industry)
were in desperate need of a work-force : they attracted hundreds
of thousands of Moroccans and Algerians who stayed in France
and were the first to be laid-off in the 1980s when the economy
slowed down. This created major social and psychological problems
for their children and, now, their grand-children.
- In West-Africa, villages
would traditionally send their most courageous young men to France
to work hard ; they would in turn send most of their salary to
their family and come back to their village after having lived
twenty years in France. Later, and especially with the Left Wing
in power in the 1980s, there was a big movement of compassion
for these poor men, living alone for years, far from their children
and a policy of "Regroupement Familial" (family regrouping)
was set up (law 29/4/1976) under the principle that " it
is a right for each person to have a normal family life".
This policy has dramatically changed the immigration pattern
: women came from their village with no experience of European
life and little capacity to adjust, polygamy is becoming a major
issue with some countries (Mali), and all children born in France
are automatically French citizens. In 2004, out of 173,390 new
resident cards to non-European, 110,619 were related to "regroupement
familial".
- In 1962, at the end of the Algerian
war of Independence, the French transfered to France as many
Algerian soldiers of the French Army, the "harkis"
with their family, as they could (most of those who remained
there were slaughtered). Their life and the life of their children
is as difficult as the life of all other immigrants who, in addition
to that, look down at them as traitors.
- Many students from Western-Africa
traditionally choose to go to University in France (even if American
universities are catching up : see figures).
Most of them stay in France.
- Illegal
immigrants (mostly from
Wester-Africa) keep pouring into Europe, mostly through Spain
and Italy. The total number is of course unknown but could be
as high as one million ; many of them have very difficult conditions
of life. France, like all the other European countries, is trying
to control the flow and to expell some of them, to dissuade more
to come, but in vain. It is particularly difficult and painful
because, by law, it is not required to be legal to have acccss
to the education and health systems. Therefore, many kids in
school are under the threat of being expelled to a country they
don't know : their parents's.
- Read about the history of the
French colonial
empire.
- Thankfully, there are more and
more examples of very successful second-generation immigrants
: in politics (like Rachida
Dati), in business (too many to cite), in the show-business
(like Jamel Debbouze and many others)
; see singers,
movie-makers
and writers.
- More to come
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| What
are the reasons for the riots in November 2005 ? |
(credit) |
- Basically an economic problem
: unemployment is high
in France (over 9%) and very high for the less qualified workers.
- Racism : Black and Arab youngsters (the "beurs")
from poor areas are the first victims of racism to find a job
and, if they can afford it, to rent an apartment ; they have
a life of constant frustration and humiliation. However (and
contrary to what is considered a fact if you read only US press),
there are French racists, like in any country, but it is not
true to say that France is a racist country. Read the section
on anti-Semitism.
Regarding immigration, all studies show that the French are more
positive on immigrants than other major countries, including
the U.S.A. : in a recent study, 32% of the French (vs. 67% of
the British) think there are too many immigrants. See detailed
figures.
- A serious urban problem : In the 1960s, the French government
developed huge public housing programs in the suburbs of most
cities ; the architecture was ugly but it was an emergency with
the arrival of many immigrants, including almost one million
"Pieds-Noirs " (French people living in Algeria and
expelled in 1962). Progressively all the people who could afford
to live somewhere else have left and it led, forty years later,
to large urban areas where everybody is poor, unemployment reaches
20% or more, buildings are poorly maintained and vandalized.
- A cultural problem : the whole French vision is based on
the idea that all French citizens must be equally treated. It
is therefore unthinkable to design special provisions for the
education of immigrants. The consequence is that, in many cases,
and especially if their family does not speak French and does
not value school, these students frequentlty drop out of the
school system. The legal system being very strict on labor, "small
jobs" do not exist and they are left with nothing to do.
- Contrary to what the US press
erroneously reported
("Muslim Riots in France"), there was never a religious
aspect in the Nov. 2005 riots. They were social riots, and very
serious ones. As compared to UK, French Muslims feel more French
than British Muslims feel British : see identity
figures.
- See a list of strengths
and weaknesses of France in 2005 and read a column
about it.
|
| DID
YOU KNOW THAT.....? Burning cars is a very frequent form
or "minor criminality" in French poor suburbs. In 2005,
45,288 were burned (+30% on 2004). About a third are stolen cars,
another third insurance fraud attempts. For the last third, it
is remarkable to observe that it is a particularly stupid crime
since the perpetrators (typically, kids aged 10 to 12) burn the
cars of their own parents who need them to go to work and can't
afford to replace them. |
What are the French good
at ?
|
What's good in France, what is
successful, etc. i.e. is there anything good Americans can
learn from the French ? For most Americans and for the entire
US press, the answer is probably very conventional : apart from
food, fashion and the art of not working, the answer is likely
to be " Not much ". Let's try to look at facts : I
see four fields where France does well, possibly better than
the USA! Before you get upset and click out of this site, read
what follows !
- Health policy : by all standards the French health
system compares very favorably to the US system. It is based
on a moral and political consensus that protecting the health
of citizens, and keeping them from what can be avoided in the
trauma of illness and death, is one of the major responsibilities
of the Society as a whole. Therefore, the State ensures that
everybody is protected and people consider it to be in charge
of controlling the quality of the health system and of regulating
all its private and public players, including corporations which
must contribute equally to it. The results : 100% people covered
(see CMU), for a
cost 30 or 40% inferior to America's (11,1% of GNP vs. more than
14% in the US) and with better results (see better
ratios : life expectancy, infantile mortality, obesity, etc).
The French are astonished when they are told that more than 40
million Americans have no health coverage (and even more no dental
coverage). Being worried about the health bill does not exist
in France. The social consensus is : "it is sad enough
to be sick and one must not have an additional money problem
about it". Saying "it is socialized medecine, therefore
bureaucratic and inefficient" is ridicululous and wrong
: look at the facts! See the WHO
ranking : France comes first and read a column in the IHT ("French Lesson") and my column
"socialized
medicine : give me a break"..
- Food culture :
not the food itself (which is not bad....) but the relationship
with food. In France, food is fun and food is interesting : food
is not something you ingest when you are hungry. Basically
: the French have structured meals where they enjoy the food
and talk together, they do NOT eat between meals, eat more vegetables,
less fast-food and do not drink too many soft drinks, etc...
The result : much less heart disease and diabetes, much less
over-weight people and more pleasure ! Read more about food.
|
- Energy
policy : France is the country which is the least dependent
on the price of fossil fuel (gas and petrol), due to the very
ambitious nuclear policy of the 1970s (see figures)
; electricity is cheap and France exports it to other European
countries ; in addition to that, its energy-saving programs are
efficient : cars use much less fuel, houses have better thermal
insulation, etc... Why? Again the strong role of the State with
a consistent policy, no petrol lobbies, etc.... Result : 2 to
3 times less energy per capita. The country is less vulnerable
to energy prices and in the long term to a shortage in fossil
energy. More about environment
in France.
- Mathematics is probably another one of the (few)
fields where France can challenge the USA. Math is the most important
subject in French education (read
more) : you cannot escape it and it is the key to be selected
for the best cursus ; it is very hard to do anything in
the French higher eductation system if you are not good in math.
In high school, the level is a minimum of two years ahead of
the US system and much more theoretical (no calculus and if you
use a theorem, you must definitely be able to demonstrate it)
: look at a French textbook to see the difference in approach.
The result :
- French research is very good in this field (see the world ranking
in math of French universities and the number of Fields
Medals)
- After a tough selection, a few French students do well in certain
fields (computer science, econometric models...)
- This taste for math illustrates the French preference for general
and theoretical ideas, as opposed to pragmatic, empiric and action-oriented
ideas (more about French
values).
- Anything else ? Read about the strengths
and weaknesses of France!
|
Islam and France
|
In August
2006, the Pew Research Center (Washington D.C.) published a very
interesting comparative study on
Muslims in four European countries (France, UK, Germany and Spain). The main results
are :
- France has the largest Muslim
population (over 5 million), mostly of Algerian and Moroccan
origin ; in Germany most Muslims come from Turkey, in England
from Pakistan and in Spain from Morocco.
- French Muslims express globally
the same opinion as other European Muslims about :
- fear of unemployment : 84% (vs.
78 to 83% in the three other countries)
- concerns about their future
: 38% (vs. 28 to 48%)
- unfavorable rating of the U.S.
: 69% (vs. 65 to 76%)
- unfavorable rating of Americans
: 51% (vs. 46 to 54%)
- opposing US war on terror :
78% (vs. 62 to 83%)
- sympathies for Palestinians
: 76% (vs. 50 to 75%)
- French Muslims differ strongly
from other European Muslims about :
- Favorable attitude toward Jews
: 71% (vs. 32% in UK, 36% in Germany and 28% in Spain) ; for
this question, the answer of the whole population of the country
is 86% in France (vs. 77% in the USA and, not unexpectedly, 2%
in Egypt, 17% in Indonesia, 6% in Pakistan, 1% in Jordan and
15% in Turkey. Anti-semitism in France is not what the US
press says : read
more about it.
|
- Seeing themselves surrounded
by hostile natives : 39% (vs. 51% in Germany, 42% in UK but 31%
in Spain) but 37% report having had a bad personal experience
(vs. 19 to 25%). They feel (relatively) welcome.
- Fewer of them see a natural
conflict between being a devout Muslim and living in a modern
society : 42% consider themselves a national citizen first (and
not a Muslim first) vs. only 7% in UK, 13% in Germany and 3%
in Spain. In Muslim countries it ranges from 6% in Pakistan to
39% in Indonesia. It seems that Muslims living in France are
indeed absorbing the secular ways of their countrymen, among
which 83% self-identify with their nationality rather than their
religion. Read
more about " laïcité " (secularism).
- A larger majority want to adopt
national customs (rather than being distinct) : 78% compared
to 41% in UK, 30% in Germany and 53% in Spain. They agree
with the French attitude against communautarism : read
more about it.
- As concluded by Pew : "
All in all, one might conclude that, despite their problems
prime among them joblessness among youth generally, not
just Muslim youth- the French need to take no integrationist
lessons from their European neighbors. "
- More to come....
|
| DID YOU KNOW THAT....? In France it
is prohibited by law to create and collect any statistical data
concerning race or religion. Therefore, questions such as
"How many Blacks in France?" ,"How many Protestants?"
, "What is the number of people of Arab origin?" or
"Where do French Jews live?" have no statistically
official answer. It is prohibited, under heavy penalty, to keep
any such individual data on a computer file and the CNIL (Commission
Nationale Informatique et Liberté) has huge powers to
investigate it. The reason for this is in the vision the French
have of their own identity : anybody born in France is (automatically)
French and becomes identical to all his/her compatriots, whatever
his/her origin. No discrimination can be made, based on the color
of the skin or religious beliefs and no such community can be
officially acknowledged (read more about anti-communautarisme). |
Political issues
|
A few things about the
recent 2007 presidential campaign
in France :
- It was indeed a big issue
: the President has a lot of power in the French constitution
and the outcome of the elections is important for the future.
Compared to the USA, the abstention rate is generally low (15%
to 25%) : it was only 15%.
- There were 12 candidates
but only two of them could win, and only two or three others
did influence the result : all the other candidates only wanted
to publicize their ideas (if any...) ; the election is in two
rounds and only the two who get the most votes in the first one
can run in the second one (so that a President is always elected
with more than 50% of the votes). See the most
recent poll.
- The two possible winners represented
the two largest political parties with the largest number of
members (100,000 to 200,000 each) : they were Nicolas Sarkozy
for the UMP (right) and Ségolène Royal
for the Socialist Party (left) ; each one could have scored between
25% and 35% in the first round. This is a difference between
France and other European countries : the two main political
parties together represent barely half of the votes. However
the choice between them is relatively clear : they have a different
vision and both are able to govern the country. Their strategy
is to gather their traditional voters around them for the first
round to get the best possible score and to rally as much as
they can in the second round along a Right/Left
dividing line. Sarkozy did a little better than he expected
in the first round and was elected with more than 53% in the
second round.
- Sarkozy's program included more
law and order, better control of immigration, more incentive
for entrepreneurship, improving relations with the USA, keeping
taxes down in line with other European countries, etc ; Royal's
program included more taxes on the wealthy (for the Socialist
Party, being rich starts at 4,000 Euros a month....), «
droit au logement » (everybody is entitled to a home provided
by the State if he/she can't afford one), extending the 35-hour
week to everybody, to name but a few.
|
- Important
candidates included Jean Marie Le
Pen for the Front National (extreme right) that represents,
to make things simple, the unhappy, the weak and the scared people
(who are many...) and could score anywhere between 12% and 25%
: in fact he scored only 10%. A surprise could have come from
François Bayrou for the UDF (center right) who represents
Christian Democracy, which is strong everywhere in Europe but
weak in France ; however it is growing and with 18% , he did
much better than his usual score (less than 10%)
- Other candidates included the greens (ecologists) with
Dominique Voynet for Les Verts, the Communist party (which does
not know it
is dead) with Marie-Georges Buffet, Lutte Ouvrière
(trotskyist) with Arlette
Laguiller, the Ligue Communiste Révolutionnaire with
Olivier Besancenot
(another trotskyist), the party of hunters (yes : it exists)
with Frédéric Nihous, the MPF with Philippe de
Villiers (extreme right), and a few others including José
Bové, and still another Trotskyist. Globally, they
usually represent 20% to 30% which are, literally, wasted but
in the second round, a majority of their voters vote for the
left and a strong minority abstains. Except for Besancenot (4%),
their scores were very disappointing (for them!) : 1 to 2% each.
For each of them, the critical issue was to get more than 5%
of the votes, the score over which campaigning expenses are
reimbursed by the State, but they all missed it and their respective
parties are now ruined.
- In the last elections (2002),
quite unexpectedly, extreme rightist Jean Marie Le Pen got more
votes than Socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin in the first
round and the second round took place between him and Jacques
Chirac for the right, elected by 82%, more by a rejection of
his opponent than by a choice for him.
- After the victory of Sarkozy,
its major opponent the Socialist Party (47% of the vote)
has entered a very serious crisis : it must change and abandon
its old Marxist myths. It is a very difficult evolution and it
will, most likely, take years.
|
Psychological and cultural
issues
- These days, the
national mood is not good in France and the French are very pessimistic,
much more than the other Europeans (source : Eurobaromètre
2006/CAS, le Monde 28/10/2007):
- worried and afraid of the future : to the question
" Are you afraid of becoming poor ? " : more than 75%
answer Yes when in most European countries the number is around
50% ; only Latvia an Hungary are as pessimistic ; even more surprisingly,
to the question : " Are you afraid to become homeless ?
" 13% answer Yes (Latvia 16% but UK 8% and most European
countries are around 5%) ; young people a particularly afraid
and only 25,6% consider their future as promising (one of the
lowest % in advanced countries : see a comparative
poll).
- distrustful : " Do you trust other people most
of the time ? " : France 22% (Sweden 64%, European average
30%)
- they have no objective reason
for it : whatever way
you measure it, their social system (health,
unemployment benefits) compares very favourably to the other
countries', economic unequality between people is smaller than
elsewhere and if income dispersion grows, it does it less than
elsewhere, health condition and life expectancy are excellent,
etc.... Read more about what the French
are good at and compare favourably to the US.
- why such low spirits ? Several tentative answers :
- the political life : based on constant criticism on one side
and constant autosatisfaction on the other side, with no other
solution than emphasizing whatever is negative
- the media love bad news : newpaper headlines and TV news focus
every day on what's wrong. Lay-offs, particularly, are detailed
every day when positive news do not make good headlines (for
instance, the 2007 Nobel Prize to a French physicist was hardly
mentioned)
- the French like to grumble and protest more than any other
people and it becomes contagious
- another French paradox :
more and more French,
less and less Germans ! Everybody knows that when a country is
depressed, its demography is weak. Not for the French whose natality
is the highest in Europe : it represents more than two third
of the total European population increase (not including immigration,
2006 figures) : France +290,000, UK +155,000, Spain +90,000,
Italy +25,000, Belgium +18,000, Hungary 33,0000, Germany
167,000, others near zero)
|
| More and more depressed
? The mood of the French is not very good. Actually,
the number of people who see the future with pessimism has been
consistently larger than the nuumber of optimists. TNS-Sofres
has carried out the same poll since 1972 and I have designed
a graph to represent it (source : Le Monde April 2008). It shows,
globally, a negative tend with recently an improvement 1997-2002
(better economic situation), a collapse 2002-2007 (the second
term of Chirac) and a (momentary) improvement in 2007 (the hope
generated by Sarkozy). |
 |
The French are said to be
reluctant toward change : read
why.
- The French culture is not dead (as US magazines like to write : see an example)
and the "new France" is not only represented
by suburban riots. Thanks to ethnic diversity, there is an incredibly
rich new generation of young singers,
movie-makers
and writers.
- To be developed
|
|
To French society
To events, as reported by the French media
To more issues
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Harriet Welty
Rochefort writes articles and books about France and the French.
Order her books:
- "French Toast, An American in Paris
Celebrates The Maddening Mysteries of the French", St.Martin's Press,
New York, 1999
- "French Fried, The Culinary Capers
of An American in Paris", St.Martin's Press, New York, 2001
More on Harriet's books (excerpts, upcoming
events, testimonials, etc..)
Together
or separately, Harriet and Philippe speak
about Intercultural Differences
: click here for information.
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