French revolution on race relations

Will Frances’ new government address the country’s contentious racial issues?

By TIMOTHY SPANGLER
Hollande sworn in as French president 370 (photo credit: REUTERS)
Hollande sworn in as French president 370
(photo credit: REUTERS)
When Socialist Francois Hollande won the French presidential election in the spring, many French voters hoped that his administration would take the French presidency in an entirely new direction – a direction in stark contrast with the “bling-bling” administration of Hollande's predecessor, Nicholas Sarkozy.  
By filling his cabinet with many new faces, Hollande seems committed to looking at Frances' complex, contentious issues from a fresh perspective.
This week, one of Hollande’s new ministers called into question one of the most awkward and inviolate elements of the French political foundation: the issue of race.
According to the philosophic orthodoxy that divides partisan politics in France, there is only one type of Frenchman.  Everyone is equal in France because in France, every Frenchman is equally French.  As a result, the 'hyphenated identities' that are so prevalent in the United States and contemporary Britain are not officially sanctioned in the France.
Although there are 'African-Americans' and 'Black Britons,' in France there is no such thing as a 'French Algerian' or a 'French African.'
This week, however, Yamina Benguigui, minister of the French language, made the radical proposal that the French government should recognize and accept that the concepts of ethnicity and race actually exist in the French Republic. 
To date, France has no official statistics based on ethnic or racial backgrounds. Thus, from this perspective, no formal attempt to analyze the French nation or any problems it faces can take place.
Benguigui, a film producer whose father was from Algeria, argues that France should accept the reality of decades of immigration and recognize that the failure of assimilation has hurt many communities.
Despite the importance of 'equality' and 'fraternity' to successive generations of French government officials, abstract ideals of the French state and a lack of pragmatism have limited the government’s ability to address important race relation problems.
The nightly violence in Frances' dire suburbs are a constant reminder that many people, born in France as the children or grandchildren of immigrants, still do not feel included in the Cartesian perfections of the French Republic.
The government must take off its blindfold and recognize that communities based on ancestry have and will always exist in France. According to Benguigui, this is the only way a pragmatic new approach can address Frances' current challenges.
Unfortunately, it is highly unlikely that any French politician will publicly say that France should look to America or Britain for inspiration on how to solve its problems. Such an announcement would amount to a rare example of “political bravery,” a classic case of “political suicide,” or both.
Will President Hollande support his minister’s controversial views on race relations?
Considering the many pressing challenges facing his government, it will be interesting to see how Hollande handles such a controversial new position.
Hollande’s honeymoon period ended this week when he received a stark warning from the Cour des Comptes, the French government's audit department, that he will need to cut over $40 billion from government spending in order to meet stringent deficit reduction targets.
Hollande campaigned on a platform for shifting the country away from austerity. However, the reality of Frances spiraling debt and empty coffers may supersede his personal political priorities.
Even if Hollande fulfills his proposition to increase taxes on every French citizen earning over € 1 million per year to an eye-watering 75 percent, he will still not have access to the revenues that are necessary to close the budget gap.
In the face of such negative economic prospects, it remains unclear whether or not Hollande will give priority to Benguigui’s radical race relations proposal.
There is something intellectually appealing about a government structured solely to deal with its citizens as philosophically undistinguished units devoid of any individual characteristics or personal history. If such an approach could work in practice, it would satisfy the desire for the highest possible level of equality before the law.
However, the reality of life in France shows that rather than facilitate assimilation and integration, France’s inability to recognize or adapt to the ethnic and religious backgrounds of its citizens is causing more harm than good. Discussion of these issues is coded, indirect, and awkward – yet the discussion continues to arise.
As France tries to climb its way out of a deep hole, millions of French citizens remain excluded from the economy and society. 
France must have all hands on deck in order keep progress alive. The French government must realize that pragmatism can sometimes trumps idealism.
The writer is a commentator who divides his time between the United Kingdom and Southern California. He has appeared on CNN, CNBC, BBC and Sky News, and has been featured in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, the Financial Times and the Economist.


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