'We're here because you were there' (France)

[bemildred]

THREE WEEKS of urban rioting by thousands of children and grandchildren of post-colonial migrants have finally forced France to grapple with the bitter fruits of its fallen empire. The lesson should not be lost on any Western nation. It is encapsulated in the slogan that activists have been employing throughout Western Europe for the past few decades: "We are here because you were there."

All too often, Europeans, like Americans, speak of immigrants as if they simply showed up at their nation's gates from out of nowhere. But global migration is rarely such a random process. Migrants generally follow established routes to foreign lands. They pick destinations they are familiar with, where they can connect to social networks. For many African-origin families in Western Europe, particularly in France and Britain, those initial connections were forged by colonialism.

Starting in the 16th century, several European nations pursued expansionist foreign policies and subjected large overseas territories and their populations to intense exploitation. They declared "spheres of influence" and expected colonials to respect them. By the late 19th century, the scramble for Africa was on. The French, Spanish, Dutch, Germans, Belgians, Italians and even the Danes claimed land in Africa at one time or another. By 1914, nearly the entire continent was under European control, and the French had holdings three times the size of the British.

---

By all indications, France has not yet come to terms with its colonial past. Last February, the French parliament passed a law requiring schools to stress the "positive character of the French overseas presence, notably in North Africa." Two weeks ago, the government activated a controversial state-of-emergency law that was first promulgated in 1955, during the nation's brutal eight-year independence war with Algeria, its most-prized former possession. And despite the centuries of "benevolent" colonialism, as recently as 1998 a survey found that four out of 10 French respondents candidly described themselves as "racist" or "fairly racist," almost twice as many as in Britain, Italy or Germany.

LA Times

[Greeby]

1. Explains how Le Pen can be a serious contender

I remember young people protested with signs saying "Vote for the crook, not the fascist" :shrug:

[tocqueville]

2. Le Pen wasn't and cannot be a serious contender

He surfed on votes of grievances against the socialist government in general. A part of the French tend to vote for extremes to manifest loudly. You have the same phenomenon in the no vote to the European Constitution.

The majority isn't more racist than Americans in general and if they vote for him it's just because he is the boogey man. And it's not because they are anti-european they vote no, it's because they are pissed of at Chirac, not solving their problems.