{"id":1321,"date":"2014-04-02T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2014-04-01T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/%20rroma.org\/02-04-2014-insidious-racism-in-france\/"},"modified":"2022-08-04T11:42:53","modified_gmt":"2022-08-04T10:42:53","slug":"02-04-2014-insidious-racism-in-france","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rroma.org\/de\/02-04-2014-insidious-racism-in-france\/","title":{"rendered":"02.04.2014 Insidious racism in France"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Several French \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tnewspapers report on the latest publication of the National Commission for \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHuman Rights (CNCDH). The commission concludes that racism in France is in overall \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdecline, but that it has become more insidious, subtle and sneaky as a result. \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tChristine Lazerges, the president of the commission, concludes: \u201cIn the long view, racism in France \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tdecreases, the time of the riots is long gone, but the racism that is \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tpropagated today is much more insidious and no longer limited to the extremist \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tedges. It pervades all strata of society.\u00a0 \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t[…] The scapegoats today are particularly Rroma, who are stigmatized, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tincluding from the government, and then the Arab Muslims.\u201d<\/em> Whether the time \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tof racially motivated riots actually belongs to the past may be doubted. Marches \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tof right-wing groups against ethnic minorities such as the Rroma regularly take \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tplace in several Eastern European countries. The results of a recent survey, mandated \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tby the commission, makes clear that negative stereotypes towards the Rroma are persisting \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tin the minds of many people. 85% of the thousand respondents said that they \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tbelieved that Rroma often exploit children and 78 % that they live of theft and \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tthe black market. In addition, the suspicion towards anti-racism actors is said \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tto be significant. The commission recommends to continuously foster the \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\teducation of the population, because it has been shown that there is a clear \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tlink between educational alienation and racism. The commission\u2019s authors \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tacknowledge that the Rroma are a heterogeneous group and are not belonging to a \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\thomogeneous culture or a single religion. However, they mistakenly assume that \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tthe Rroma live in France only since the early 20th century (CNCDH 2014: 201). However, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tthey appear in France in early chronicles since the beginning of the 15th century. \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTassel (2014) emphasizes the particular context in which the book is published. \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tOn the weekend of March 30th, the right-wing nationalist National \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFront, which bases significant parts of its policies on xenophobia, achieved a \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tnew high in the electorate. In addition, a new Prime Minister, Manuel Valls, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\thas been inaugurated. He is notorious for his repressive policies towards the \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRroma. The commission also emphasises the distinction between visible and \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tinvisible Rroma, a differentiation that has been fostered by the Rroma \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFoundation for quite some time: \u201cOnly a \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tsmall minority of the Rroma define themselves in this way \u2013 between 15,000 and \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t20,000, who generally originate of a recent immigration from Bulgaria and \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRomania \u2013 live in a very large uncertainty, that means in the slums. The others \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tare not \u201cvisible\u201d and do not live in a state of extreme poverty. The vast \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tmajority consists of Gens du voyage, an estimated 350,000 people\u201d<\/em> (CNCDH \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t2014: 201-202). This view is contradicted by Tcherenkov\/Laederich (2004: 4, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t513), who make a clear distinction between travellers of European origin and Rroma. \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe latter are almost invariably not travelling and belong to the groups of the \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tManouche, Sinti, Gitans, Kaldersha, Lovara and Yugoslav Rroma (20 minutes 2014, La Croix 2014, CNCDH 2014, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTassel 2014, Vincent 2014).<\/p>\n