2008 Woodie Awards
Lula: Nations Can Ignore Poverty, but They Can't Ignore Riots
Karolina Lula, op-ed columnist
Issue date: 11/28/05 Section: Opinion
We love hating the French and the French love hating us.
A classic example of these feelings is that our War on Terror name for the French fry became the "Freedom Fry." In spite of the animosity, it seems like France and the United States have more in common than either would like to admit: we both have serious policy problems.
On Oct. 27 in a French suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois, two teenagers - one descended from North Africa, the other from Malian - allegedly fleeing from the police, were electrocuted in a power substation.
The incident caused riots and as the disorder spread a tear-gas grenade launched by riot police incidentally landed in a Clichy prayer hall. It is likely that the two unexplained incidents agitated mob violence that spread from the peripheries of Paris to other cities throughout the country.
In early September, Hurricane Katrina devastated the American states of Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana. The catastrophe was an event that caused all law to break down, and controversy over the media's portrayal of the lootings, murders, and rapes ensued.
Pre-Katrina there were unspoken racial tensions exasperated by class differences. The hurricane was the incident that exposed these differences. It took these anarchical events for the media to realize that 12.7percent of Americans live under the poverty threshold. Mississippi has the highest poverty rate, closely followed by Louisiana, which ranks third.
Likewise, the rapid pace at which the French riots spread throughout the country can be attributed to the problems of poverty and race.
Unemployment persists in France, even though it is a country proud of its welfare state. France also prides in its supposed tolerance when it comes to race, yet nothing prevented ethnic ghettos from forming in their country. Coupled with strict law enforcement and disputes over the incorporation of Islam into the France's integration policy, the poverty and perceived racial discrimination resulted in riots.
Both in the U.S. and France, rioters and looters were not immigrants, nor were they white. They were the ethnic minorities and children of immigrants who were never really integrated into mainstream society. And in both cases they were poor by each nation's standards.
The difference between France and the U.S., however, lies in the fact that in the former the problem is almost institutionalized. France has an unemployment rate of 23 percent, which is one of the largest in Europe.
This large rate can largely be explained by France's welfare state. Full-time permanent jobs are very scarce. Since they are protected by the law, the employers choose not to make many. This leaves many young people jobless and often indignant.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the violence in France decreased almost overnight when the government toughened its response and quickly moved forward with the deportations of those involved in the two-week riots. The police detained 2,000 since the attack began.
It is interesting to note that those deported were mostly the French-born children of immigrants from the former West and North African colonies. As effective as the deportations were in decreasing the violence, many civil rights groups are likely to question the legitimacy of the government's actions.
Unlike the U.S., Europe is not a nation of immigrants. Some Europeans take pride in their nation's tolerant stance on immigration. It is important to note that this tolerance is not viewed as an inalienable right of the foreigners. It is rather viewed as a benevolent attitude by a generous nation.
Europe has been a predominantly white and predominantly Christian continent for centuries. It is not the "melting pot" of culture that the U.S. has been since its birth. Therefore, it is difficult for countries like France to do something about a problem that is not perceived as a "problem."
Most importantly, however, are the savage inequalities of income. The riots might very well undermine the potential strength of the European Union. Perhaps the riots will cause France to seriously rethink her economic policy. Perhaps poverty will become a recognized problem that must be solved sooner rather than later. Or perhaps, as in the U.S., it will be forgotten until the next disaster.
Columnist karolina Lula is a junior senator of the SGA and an NCAS political science and economics major.
A classic example of these feelings is that our War on Terror name for the French fry became the "Freedom Fry." In spite of the animosity, it seems like France and the United States have more in common than either would like to admit: we both have serious policy problems.
On Oct. 27 in a French suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois, two teenagers - one descended from North Africa, the other from Malian - allegedly fleeing from the police, were electrocuted in a power substation.
The incident caused riots and as the disorder spread a tear-gas grenade launched by riot police incidentally landed in a Clichy prayer hall. It is likely that the two unexplained incidents agitated mob violence that spread from the peripheries of Paris to other cities throughout the country.
In early September, Hurricane Katrina devastated the American states of Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana. The catastrophe was an event that caused all law to break down, and controversy over the media's portrayal of the lootings, murders, and rapes ensued.
Pre-Katrina there were unspoken racial tensions exasperated by class differences. The hurricane was the incident that exposed these differences. It took these anarchical events for the media to realize that 12.7percent of Americans live under the poverty threshold. Mississippi has the highest poverty rate, closely followed by Louisiana, which ranks third.
Likewise, the rapid pace at which the French riots spread throughout the country can be attributed to the problems of poverty and race.
Unemployment persists in France, even though it is a country proud of its welfare state. France also prides in its supposed tolerance when it comes to race, yet nothing prevented ethnic ghettos from forming in their country. Coupled with strict law enforcement and disputes over the incorporation of Islam into the France's integration policy, the poverty and perceived racial discrimination resulted in riots.
Both in the U.S. and France, rioters and looters were not immigrants, nor were they white. They were the ethnic minorities and children of immigrants who were never really integrated into mainstream society. And in both cases they were poor by each nation's standards.
The difference between France and the U.S., however, lies in the fact that in the former the problem is almost institutionalized. France has an unemployment rate of 23 percent, which is one of the largest in Europe.
This large rate can largely be explained by France's welfare state. Full-time permanent jobs are very scarce. Since they are protected by the law, the employers choose not to make many. This leaves many young people jobless and often indignant.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the violence in France decreased almost overnight when the government toughened its response and quickly moved forward with the deportations of those involved in the two-week riots. The police detained 2,000 since the attack began.
It is interesting to note that those deported were mostly the French-born children of immigrants from the former West and North African colonies. As effective as the deportations were in decreasing the violence, many civil rights groups are likely to question the legitimacy of the government's actions.
Unlike the U.S., Europe is not a nation of immigrants. Some Europeans take pride in their nation's tolerant stance on immigration. It is important to note that this tolerance is not viewed as an inalienable right of the foreigners. It is rather viewed as a benevolent attitude by a generous nation.
Europe has been a predominantly white and predominantly Christian continent for centuries. It is not the "melting pot" of culture that the U.S. has been since its birth. Therefore, it is difficult for countries like France to do something about a problem that is not perceived as a "problem."
Most importantly, however, are the savage inequalities of income. The riots might very well undermine the potential strength of the European Union. Perhaps the riots will cause France to seriously rethink her economic policy. Perhaps poverty will become a recognized problem that must be solved sooner rather than later. Or perhaps, as in the U.S., it will be forgotten until the next disaster.
Columnist karolina Lula is a junior senator of the SGA and an NCAS political science and economics major.