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Opinion | Editorial
Published: 5/11/2005, 07:10 (UAE)
Paris, a tale of two cities
The riots in the poorer region of France speak not of opportunity but of despair Paris, the city of lights, the city of charm and sophistication. And also of destitution. The past week has seen the French capital turn into the city of fights with Les Miserables taking their grievances to the badly paved streets of the run-down north-eastern suburbs. For a country moulded by revolution that inspired mankind with what were once heretical notions of human rights and common heritage, citizens taking to the streets is not an unknown phenomenon. But its mixture in this case of an alienated ethnic minority and a heavy handed response from police is depressingly familiar. The trouble began in Clichy-sous-Bois when two teenagers being chased by police were accidentally electrocuted. But the seeds of the violence were planted long ago. The suburbs where the rioting took place are situated on the periphery of Paris, but they are also on the periphery of society. These are sink estates where unemployment is high and the level of social services and support groups is low. Petty crime is rife and the police are seen as the enemy. France was once the model in Europe for integration, just as West Germany was once the model for employment. But the grim ghettoes of Paris and other large French cities speak not of opportunity but of despair. Immigrants from the Maghreb and West Africa feel isolated and unwanted. Nicolas Sarkozy, a challenger for the presidency and a fiery interior minister, is responding harshly to the riots with at least one eye on the extreme right and the National Front leader, Jean-Marie Le Pen. France is neither in a revolutionary fever, nor is there a call to man the barricades. But there is anger in the air and the mood is definitely ugly.
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