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| Paris attacks: Can France integrate disaffected suburbs? | Paris attacks: Can France integrate disaffected suburbs? |
| (about 11 hours later) | |
| In all the glowing coverage of France's 11 January march for Charlie, there was one omission which was understandable but revealing. | In all the glowing coverage of France's 11 January march for Charlie, there was one omission which was understandable but revealing. |
| No-one said it at the time, because they did not want to puncture the euphoria of national unity, but it is true nonetheless: The banlieues (city suburbs) were largely absent. | No-one said it at the time, because they did not want to puncture the euphoria of national unity, but it is true nonetheless: The banlieues (city suburbs) were largely absent. |
| While the rest of the country turned out in force to uphold the ideas for which the 17 died, very few attended from those parts of France that were most familiar to the killers. | While the rest of the country turned out in force to uphold the ideas for which the 17 died, very few attended from those parts of France that were most familiar to the killers. |
| Evidently young people in the high-immigration banlieues were as shocked as everyone else by the murders. | Evidently young people in the high-immigration banlieues were as shocked as everyone else by the murders. |
| But just as evidently, they did not share in the majority mood. | But just as evidently, they did not share in the majority mood. |
| The absence of the banlieusards shows how the gulf separating the out-of-town estates from the rest of France is wider today than ever. | The absence of the banlieusards shows how the gulf separating the out-of-town estates from the rest of France is wider today than ever. |
| Tens of thousands of third-generation immigrants from North and sub-Saharan Africa are now entering adulthood, and their prospects are every bit as grim as they were when the famous riots took place 10 years ago. | Tens of thousands of third-generation immigrants from North and sub-Saharan Africa are now entering adulthood, and their prospects are every bit as grim as they were when the famous riots took place 10 years ago. |
| The worrying difference is that today the Islamist temptation is much more pronounced. Now for some young people, there is an alternative. | The worrying difference is that today the Islamist temptation is much more pronounced. Now for some young people, there is an alternative. |
| "They are lost, they have no compass, they feel cast aside," says Latifa Ibn Ziaten, mother of one of the victims of Toulouse killer Mohamed Merah, who now travels the country speaking at schools in the banlieues. | "They are lost, they have no compass, they feel cast aside," says Latifa Ibn Ziaten, mother of one of the victims of Toulouse killer Mohamed Merah, who now travels the country speaking at schools in the banlieues. |
| "They are at the mercy of anyone who wants to indoctrinate them." | "They are at the mercy of anyone who wants to indoctrinate them." |
| As the French government sets about defining its response to the January massacres, one aspect will be increased security. | As the French government sets about defining its response to the January massacres, one aspect will be increased security. |
| But the other will be a new attempt to "solve" the problem of the quartiers (neighbourhoods: yet another euphemism). | But the other will be a new attempt to "solve" the problem of the quartiers (neighbourhoods: yet another euphemism). |
| 'Apartheid' | 'Apartheid' |
| If - as Prime Minister Manuel Valls put it on Tuesday - there is indeed a "social, ethnic and territorial apartheid" in France, then what can be done to break down the walls? | If - as Prime Minister Manuel Valls put it on Tuesday - there is indeed a "social, ethnic and territorial apartheid" in France, then what can be done to break down the walls? |
| There is no shortage of advice. For different experts, the priorities are variously educational, religious, economic or national. | There is no shortage of advice. For different experts, the priorities are variously educational, religious, economic or national. |
| Innumerable initiatives will be suggested in the coming months, and some of them will be implemented. | Innumerable initiatives will be suggested in the coming months, and some of them will be implemented. |
| How much difference they will make is another matter. Even before 2005, billions had been spent on schemes for the suburbs, and even more has been spent since. | How much difference they will make is another matter. Even before 2005, billions had been spent on schemes for the suburbs, and even more has been spent since. |
| But little has been achieved, and one thing on which even the Left now agrees is that money cannot be the answer. In any case, there isn't any to spend. | But little has been achieved, and one thing on which even the Left now agrees is that money cannot be the answer. In any case, there isn't any to spend. |
| Schools are one area in which President Hollande is known to want a clear response. | Schools are one area in which President Hollande is known to want a clear response. |
| The scores of cases where the minute's silence for Charlie victims was broken by teenage pupils have shown - in the government's eyes - how bad things have got. | The scores of cases where the minute's silence for Charlie victims was broken by teenage pupils have shown - in the government's eyes - how bad things have got. |
| There is likely to be new emphasis on teaching laicite (secularism) and other French values, as well as a much stricter reaction to breaches of discipline. | There is likely to be new emphasis on teaching laicite (secularism) and other French values, as well as a much stricter reaction to breaches of discipline. |
| Teachers will be told to get tough, though in reality many will regard that as a sick joke - so unruly are their pupils. | Teachers will be told to get tough, though in reality many will regard that as a sick joke - so unruly are their pupils. |
| Symbolic measures like singing the Marseillaise or flying the tricolour are unlikely to be adopted. | Symbolic measures like singing the Marseillaise or flying the tricolour are unlikely to be adopted. |
| But one plausible idea will be creating a new kind of civic service for teenagers - an equivalent to the military service that was abandoned in 1997. | |
| Many from all political parties believe a tough but rewarding experience shared by teenagers of all social classes could be the perfect vector for national values. | Many from all political parties believe a tough but rewarding experience shared by teenagers of all social classes could be the perfect vector for national values. |
| But the idea runs up against huge obstacles. Cost is one, and another is the problem of finding useful occupation for half a million youngsters. | But the idea runs up against huge obstacles. Cost is one, and another is the problem of finding useful occupation for half a million youngsters. |
| Islamic structure | Islamic structure |
| Finding a new framework for Islam in France is another important avenue. The amorphous nature of the religion's structures makes it easier for radical interpretations to gain currency. | Finding a new framework for Islam in France is another important avenue. The amorphous nature of the religion's structures makes it easier for radical interpretations to gain currency. |
| In theory there exists an overarching Muslim body - the CFCM (French Council for the Muslim Faith) - but in reality it is dominated by rival conservative blocs, each linked to different immigrant countries of origin. | In theory there exists an overarching Muslim body - the CFCM (French Council for the Muslim Faith) - but in reality it is dominated by rival conservative blocs, each linked to different immigrant countries of origin. |
| The Paris attacks led to calls yet again for a genuinely representative Islamic authority - similar to France's Jewish institutions. Maybe this time something will change. | The Paris attacks led to calls yet again for a genuinely representative Islamic authority - similar to France's Jewish institutions. Maybe this time something will change. |
| Bridging the gulf with the banlieues is a process of generations. The best that can be hoped for is that, over the course of decades, new attitudes take hold. | Bridging the gulf with the banlieues is a process of generations. The best that can be hoped for is that, over the course of decades, new attitudes take hold. |
| Economic opportunities should be one lever. | Economic opportunities should be one lever. |
| As interior minister and then President, Nicolas Sarkozy correctly saw that a freer economy in which business creation lies in everyone's grasp could do far more than a thousand social plans to bring banlieue youngsters into national life. | As interior minister and then President, Nicolas Sarkozy correctly saw that a freer economy in which business creation lies in everyone's grasp could do far more than a thousand social plans to bring banlieue youngsters into national life. |
| Sadly diagnosis never became cure, and today France's gummed up jobs market is just another reason why banlieue youth has given up. | Sadly diagnosis never became cure, and today France's gummed up jobs market is just another reason why banlieue youth has given up. |
| But it is a self-evident truth that with prosperity and prospects, the vision of even the most nihilistic can be transformed. | But it is a self-evident truth that with prosperity and prospects, the vision of even the most nihilistic can be transformed. |
| At an even deeper level, the problem becomes psychological - even anthropological. | At an even deeper level, the problem becomes psychological - even anthropological. |
| Societies through the ages have struggled to cope with their young males. Young males have an inherent tendency to violence unless constrained by patterns of shared behaviour. | Societies through the ages have struggled to cope with their young males. Young males have an inherent tendency to violence unless constrained by patterns of shared behaviour. |
| Finding core values | Finding core values |
| For some - and not just on the Right - the great failing of modern France has been its inability to assert itself and impose these patterns of behaviour. | For some - and not just on the Right - the great failing of modern France has been its inability to assert itself and impose these patterns of behaviour. |
| Regis Debray, who is a philosopher of the Left, says Western societies are dominated by a purely economic view of the world. | Regis Debray, who is a philosopher of the Left, says Western societies are dominated by a purely economic view of the world. |
| Politics are sterile; liberalism has placed the individual at the heart of all; deeper human values are scorned. | Politics are sterile; liberalism has placed the individual at the heart of all; deeper human values are scorned. |
| As a result, he says, France as a nation believes in nothing at all - disarming itself against the very people who want to bring it down. | As a result, he says, France as a nation believes in nothing at all - disarming itself against the very people who want to bring it down. |
| "Today we have a governing class which is embarrassed by its own language, by its own place of birth," he says. | "Today we have a governing class which is embarrassed by its own language, by its own place of birth," he says. |
| "How are immigrants supposed to feel drawn to values which are being rejected by the people at the top? Our real problem... is our inability to get the new arrivals to like us... We need to get back our pride." | "How are immigrants supposed to feel drawn to values which are being rejected by the people at the top? Our real problem... is our inability to get the new arrivals to like us... We need to get back our pride." |
| Humiliation | Humiliation |
| If French national pride is one part of the psychological equation, then another must be Muslim humiliation. | If French national pride is one part of the psychological equation, then another must be Muslim humiliation. |
| The anger that impels young Muslim men to burn cars - or to join Islamic State - is born of a historic sense of humiliation. | The anger that impels young Muslim men to burn cars - or to join Islamic State - is born of a historic sense of humiliation. |
| Humiliation at being at the bottom of the heap in France; humiliation at the corruption and failures of the Middle East; humiliation at constantly losing. | Humiliation at being at the bottom of the heap in France; humiliation at the corruption and failures of the Middle East; humiliation at constantly losing. |
| Humiliation makes people feel bad about themselves. Humiliation breeds hate. | Humiliation makes people feel bad about themselves. Humiliation breeds hate. |
| The day that the banlieues join a rally for French values will be the day the people of the banlieues lose their sense of humiliation. | The day that the banlieues join a rally for French values will be the day the people of the banlieues lose their sense of humiliation. |