"Paris under the bombs" was the title of a song released in 1995, by the notorious French rap group NTM. Through their lyrics, NTM was known for promoting acts of violence and inciting the youth of France's impoverished suburbs to express their anger against a society and government that didn't pay attention to their needs. Despite the taming of their songs' messages, with the violence that has taken place in France during the past two weeks, it seems that the anger with which NTM is affiliated resonates more then ever.
The riots in France, which have caused much stress in the European Union, started on Oct. 27 after two minority teenagers were killed while fleeing police officers. Not only did these riots bring about a state of panic in Jacques Chirac's government and the French population, but they have also raised many questions about France's ability to understand and accept itself as a multicultural country.
In the past week, many French citizens have compared the recent events to those of May 1968, when students manifested their frustration with the government - which had ignored their requests for reform in the educational system - by mobilizing almost the entire country to rally for their cause. With thousands of burnt cars and many wounded from altercations between the police and protestors, the recent violence signifies the need for reforms comparable to those of 1968. However, the social and political agendas of the two periods are much different.
Though Dominique de Villepin's declaration of a state of emergency seemed to be paying off late last week, the implications of this outbreak of violence are clearly going to have serious repercussions for the future of France and the whole of Europe. Lessons must be learnt in order to prevent such happenings from taking place again. However, as noted by Quentin Peel in the Financial Times, "it is undeniable that the riots demonstrated the failure of the French model of color-blind racial integration." This opinion was confirmed when presidential-hopeful Nicholas Sarkozy expressed a desire to expel all immigrants involved in the riots regardless of whether or not they held valid residential permits.
Instead of empowering immigrants, France has clearly masked widespread segregation and marginalized its immigrant workers by rendering them invisible. The riots were a way for these poor immigrants to express themselves and find a way to denounce the injustice they regularly withstand.
This uprising, however, should not have been a surprise. With the immigrant community approaching 10 percent of the French population, marginalized "outsiders" were bound to express their voices in the realm of French politics. Such was the expected consequence given that a significant percentage of the French electorate has given its support to a right-wing candidate and has vocally expressed its disapproval of Turkey's admission into the EU due to immigration policies.
Nevertheless, France isn't the only country facing problems with their growing community of immigrants. The United Kingdom also has made attempts to encourage the maintenance of cultural and ethnic identity in its immigrant communities. But as we saw after the bombings in London on July 7, there is also an alienated generation of immigrants raised in the UK that is capable of causing far worse damage than that which occurred in France.
Therefore, these riots should not only be analyzed as an isolated incident, but in the context of the entire European Union. Most members have an increasing immigrant community and with the Schengen agreements, which allow citizens to cross European borders unfettered, it is going to be more and more difficult for governments to simply ignore these communities. As mentioned by Dominique Moisi, a senior adviser at the French Institute for International relations, if the leaders from the various European countries want to solve this growing problem, it is crucial that they start listening to this new "proletariat of the 21st century." Otherwise, events of violence and unrest such as the riots in France are bound to be repeated in other European countries.
Jason Shellaby is a senior majoring in international relations.
