French Gov. Focus on Muslims Partly Due to Trauma of Algerian War Defeat: Expert
The death of 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk, a French citizen of Algerian and Moroccan descent, at the hands of the French police triggered demonstrations against the authorities and their policies. It also exposed the issue of oppression and prejudice against minorities in France.
Some analysts and political observers argue that the French government's measures to combat what they describe as radicalism and Muslim separatism are aimed at limiting Muslims and treating them as inferior citizens.
These political observers suggest that to understand why many young French people resort to violence, we need to examine what's going on in France. They say that France is dominated by an Islamophobic and racist climate and that Islamophobia has become a central part of French politics in recent years.
To further discuss the issue, IQNA has reached out to Paul Smith, an Associate Professor in French History and Politics at Faculty of Arts in University of Nottingham.
Here is the full text of the interview:
IQNA: We saw protests in different French cities due to the violence of the French police. What do you think is the root of these protests?
Smith: Behind the immediate cause lies the endemic problems of structural failure not so much to inset in the banlieues so much as to adapt to the needs of the populations there in terms of integrating them into wider French society. Or at least the perception that young men, in particular, have no future in wider society. And while Macron has said some very interesting things about decolonizing French society, it hasn’t really happened at anything beyond the level of rhetoric.
IQNA: Some believe that the way the French government views and treats religious and racial minorities is still modeled after the colonial era of this country in Africa. To what extent do you know this?
Smith: There are several factors here. Certainly, France has not yet come to terms with its colonial past, particularly with regard to Algeria (and vice versa by the way) but more broadly. Like many people in Britain, there is a belief that France had a civilizing mission and that that was enough... That the colonized peoples should love France... it’s not that straightforward
IQNA: The French government somehow describes Muslims as separatists and people who do not adhere to the principles of the French Republic. What is the reason for this discriminatory attitude towards French Muslims?
Smith: The French state and by extension government have a view of society that is not prepared to really admit to difference, even when the reality exists that there is a ‘rainbow’ France of all sorts of identities and religions. But it is true that France focuses this on its Muslim population. Again, in part, it is to do with the failure to assimilate the defeat in the Algerian War of independence, but it is also to do with visibility. Using the secular state as a weapon against religious difference is a pretext. Separatism though is a different matter and is about the fear of communities turning inward. In the present context though, we cannot avoid the fact that France is in the throes of a culture war where whiteness and Catholic identity, even secular Catholicism, have been revived as the norm...
IQNA: Considering the recent events in France, we can expect more strictness from the French government towards Muslims and French minorities. How likely do you think this is?
Smith: Yes, I fear that is true, and I fear that Macron is keen to emphasize the law and order responses rather than an intelligent review of what drives the problem.
IQNA: What do you think will change the behavior of the French government after these riots?
Smith: It’s difficult to tell. In 2018 Macron commissioned a report by Jean-Louis Borloo into what should be done with ‘les banlieue’. Macron threw the report in the metaphorical bin, saying it wasn’t for privileged white men to tell France’s ethnic populations how to behave. But it might have been a start all the same.
Paul Smith is a historian who specializes in 19th and 20th century French politics, political institutions and political culture. Smith have particular research interests in the French Senate, Feminism in France 1914-1945, French local government, and Contemporary French Politics in general.
Interview by Mohammad Hassan Goodarzi
The views and opinions expressed in this interview are solely those of the interviewee and do not necessarily reflect the view of International Quran News Agency.
