- Title: FRANCE: Life has not improved in the poor suburbs of Paris
- Date: 30th November 2007
- Summary: (BN13) PARIS, FRANCE (NOVEMBER 28, 2007) (REUTERS) VARIOUS COUNCIL ESTATES / APARTMENT BLOCKS IN GENNEVILLIERS, IN THE POOR PARIS SUBURBS
- Embargoed: 15th December 2007 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: France
- Country: France
- Topics: Domestic Politics,Social Services / Welfare
- Reuters ID: LVAD3QFA0MUT4RSRJ0DA3Z0F65YP
- Story Text: The situation in the suburbs of Paris has not improved since the last riots in 2005.
Life has not improved for the inhabitants of France's poor, ethnically diverse city suburbs since the riots of 2005, despite millions of euros in cash pledges and President Nicolas Sarkozy's election promises, experts say.
High unemployment, under-performing schools, poor relations with the police, inadequate housing and controversial new immigration laws have created a generation of frustrated youths ready to turn to violence at any time.
Locals say it is not surprising that the deaths of two youths in a crash with police in the Villiers-le-Bel suburb of northern Paris led to scenes that have quickly revived the memories of 2005, France's worst urban riots in 40 years.
Hassan Ben M'Barek, president of "Banlieues Respect", an association of many youth associations of the poor Paris suburbs, says a combination of insensitive policing and lack of youth opportunities has exacerbated the problems of the area.
"We've been seeing more police coming into the suburbs since some politicians have focussed on insecurity. For example, you would have youngsters who would be calmly sat down, the police would be asking for their identity papers five times a day, day after day, then youngsters would get fed up. They would tell the police 'Ok, you know us now, why won't you stop checking up on us', this would create tensions and the youngsters would be accused of insulting the police; it would then finish in a tribunal, and in France, when you come from a poor suburb and end up in a tribunal, you are always convicted," said Hassan Ben M'Barek.
"Not much has changed since 2005 apart from the relationship between the youngsters and the police which has deteriorated," he said.
"What needs to improve is the relationship between the youngsters and the police which has worsened, and more perspective for the youth in terms of finding a job and have a future. So two things have gone wrong, the relationship with the police and a foreseeable future," he added.
At the time of the 2005 riots, the prime minister of the time, Dominique de Villepin, who is from the same party as Sarkozy, promised the government would restore millions of euros in funding for community projects in sensitive areas. The European Union also offered 50 million euros to help turn around the fortunes of the suburbs.
Sarkozy, who as the interior minister took a tough line on the rioters and was blamed for stoking the violence, also called for affirmative action to help non-whites get fair treatment.
During this year's presidential election campaign he called for a "Marshall Plan 2", a reference to massive U.S. aid granted to rebuild post-war France, to offer 250,000 youngsters in 750 most deprived areas paid training and work experience.
But despite the long list of promises, nothing has changed.
The problem with French poor suburbs is their isolation from the rest of French society says Jacques Donzelot, a sociologist and author.
"What happened since 2005? Nothing, just small talk, small talk," said Donzelot.
"Really, a ghetto is a prison. It's a place where you have the feeling of being stuck, you get used to it but you know there is an outside and you can't go outside. That's their perception. So they live there and they find ways to survive there, by trafficking, by being dependent on social benefits, from odd jobs and a lot of trafficking. And they also live in fear, in fear of each other."
"What characterizes this population is hopelessness. That is because the difficulties they are facing are not acknowledged by anyone but at the same time they are put on the same level as others. They know they are handicapped so they are afraid to hope for anything, because they are frightened of being disappointed, as they know they have less opportunities," said Donzelot.
Local officials have repeatedly called for a return to community policing, which was scrapped by Sarkozy during his stints at the interior ministry.
The 2005 riots also provoked a wider debate about better integration of second-generation immigrants who feel alienated by mainstream society, despite being born in France.
But a recent law on immigration that introduces language assessments and optional DNA tests to verify family links, has only made them feel more excluded.
Sarkozy has sought to offer non-whites role models in his government, naming Rachida Dati as justice minister and Fadela Amara as junior towns minister -- both of North African origin.
Amara will present a plan for the suburbs in January but for may observers, it is likely to be too little, too late. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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