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Published: December 8th 2005
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view from the "main" part of town in my suburb
This is what I see every day when I get off the metro. Here is a belated entry in regards to the riots and working in the suburbs.
As many of you probably know, the rioting took place in the parisian suburbs. The layout of European cities is quite different from that of most American ones in that the nicest, most expensive areas are in the city center, and most of the suburbs tend to be the cheaper, slum sort of area. While I live on the Ile Saint Louis In the middle of Paris, I travel to the northern suburbs in the Seine-Saint-Denis area to teach at my high school in La Courneuve.
The different between these two areas is remarkable. The minute I step off the metro in La Courneuve, I see a completely different side of France. The buildings in La Courneuve are not beautiful, not historic, and not really worth seeing. The area is rather dirty. It is mainly comprised of huge, sprawling, ugly apartment buildings where immigrant families from France are crammed into whatever rooms they can manage to pay for. This was France's housing "solution" for these families during the 20th century - they developed the area outside of Paris to house the immigrant families who
one of the apartment buildings
lately it has come to light that many people in these buildings live in polygamous family situations, which obviously contributes to the crammed housing problems. arrived from many of the countries that France finally decided (or was forced) to stop colonizing.
Whether the government intended it to be like this or not, Paris (and other French cities) has remained largely divided. The immigrants have stayed in the suburbs, and the old pure French type has stayed within the cities. With this division comes natural problems: the unemployment rate in France is generally high (around 10 percent), but the unemployment rate in these suburbs is exorbitantly high (around 40 percent). In addition to this, a new generation is being raised in these suburbs, and what exists is a sort of "culture clash". These kids, who comprise the majority of my students in the high school, have been raised by immigrants who came to France for a better life. Yet they aren't seeing a wonderful life in their dirty suburbs: in fact they are faced with the daunting prospect that their chances of even finding a job after school is relatively low. They also are faced with the pressure of satisfying their parents, who have their customs from home, and finding their identities as legal French citizens.
As a result, Paris contains a lot of
better view of La Courneuve
this was taken from the top floor of my high school. all of those tall buildings are apartment complexes. tension. Many employers just don't hire immigrants. The government has tried to quell this problem by giving tax breaks to companies who move their factories and other businesses to the suburbs, but with the rampant disorganization in the French government, these tax breaks are often given while the employers can still maintain their racist hiring practices and never face the consequences.
With all this history taken in, it's not a huge surprise that the youth of the suburbs began rioting in October. What really surprised me was the reactions I was getting while being here. The rioting began when I was still enjoying my long All Saints' Vacation (yes, working in France does have
some perks). Because I had not ventured out to the suburbs, I saw absolutely no evidence of 2000 cars being burned at night. Everything was normal on the Ile Saint Louis, and to my shock and amazement, lots of Parisians didn't even know what was going on around them!
Of course, they all figured it out once the rioting continued for around two weeks. The first day I had to go to my high school to teach, I was really dreading it. Once again
four of my students.
these girls are sweethearts, and they wanted me to take a picture of them for the blog! so here they are! though, I saw aboslutely no sign of the rioting, even in La Courneuve, despite the fact that it
was going on in La Courneuve at night. And I never felt like I was in danger.
Some of you might notice as well how different the riots here were from general riot situations in the United States. One man was killed as a result of the rioting. And he was not killed as a direct result - his death had a lot to do with his old age. Rioting at home is generally
much more dangerous than the rioting that was going on in France. I was getting so many emails every day from people asking me if I was all right when I was not in a dangerous situation. Naturally I started to get suspicious, so I started reading the American press in more depth. What I noticed was that the American newspapers and magazines were fostering a culture of danger that was not really at all present in France during the riots. Why? Well, I received a crash course in French-American press relations, I guess you could say! The French press was rather harsh on the American government during Katrina, when thousands of poor people were not treated fairly by their government. So naturally, when it became evident to the world that the French government was just as guilty of not treating their poor population fairly, it was time for the same treatment towards France from the American press. It kind of became a joke here in France, and I loved that it was going on becuase I could talk to all my students and my friends about American current events.
In conclusion, I never felt in danger during the riots. I did have students tell me that they were out burning cars at night. I was also called a racist during the riots in one my classes, after which I had to physically push the students outside the class room. I think that might have been related to my efforts at discipline instead of my being an American! After that happened I flatly refused to ever teach the class again, and thankfully, my refusal was acknowledged. Working here during the riots has been good for me - I am definitely experiencing the
real France, and it's quite different from the one most people see during tourist stints.
I'll post something soon about Christmas in Paris. Right now I am finishing up teaching and anxiously awaiting the arrival of my mother! To everyone reading, if you haven't heard from me: have a great holiday!
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