France unable to handle chaos alone

One may say that the current pogroms in France are both spontaneous and organized

The chaos in France continues for 12 days already. Hundreds of cars have been burnt, numerous shops have been plundered, scores of people have been wounded and hundreds arrested. Experts refer to the ongoing mess in France as the crisis in the very basis of the French state structure.

Pravda.Ru asked the chairman of the Center for Philosophical Research of the Institute of Europe, Doctor of Economic Sciences, Yury Rubinsky, to express his opinion about the ethnic riots in France.

”One may say that the current pogroms in France are both spontaneous and organized. There is an element of spontaneity, although it is clear that there is someone behind those riots too. It is obvious that these events have been planned meticulously for a very long time. They used the death of two teenagers as a pretext to launch the mess.

”This problem has very deep roots. There are 3.2 million legally working foreigners, 800,000 illegal citizens and up to five million immigrants living in present-day France. About nine percent of the entire French population, 50 percent of them Muslims, Arabs, first and foremost, originate from so-called third world countries. They live in suburbs of large cities, where the level of unemployment and criminality is a lot higher than in the rest of the country. Those ghettos were supposed to rampage sooner or later.

France burning for 12 days - photo gallery

”Immigrants from North Africa speak French, they go to French schools, but generations still live in quarters, where they stick to their ancestors' traditions and customs. France has always been the country of immigrants: every fourth Frenchman or Frenchwoman has non-French relatives. However, Italians, Spaniards, Portuguese, Poles and Russians were gradually becoming full-fledged French citizens, although Arabs are not going to follow their example at all.

”Black Christians live with Arabs, in one and the same areas. However, it is easier for them to obtain the French citizenship, and there are no religious obstacles for it either. Once they hold the French citizenship, they immediately bring a crowd of their relatives over to France. This is a rather irritating factor for native French citizens, which gave rise to the popularity of the National Front movement in the country and its leader, Jean Marie Le Pen.

”This is a stalemate situation: their problems cannot be solved without the solution of problems, which another part of the French population has. The unemployment level in France is a lot higher in comparison with Germany, for instance. Arabs complain of discrimination, but they enjoy quite generous allowances, which they obviously have no wish to give up. They want to live quietly in their own French world. This is where Le Pen proceeds from in his politics.

”The French government will definitely have to take measures to toughen immigration policies. When immigrants come to France, they do not find themselves in the society of paradise as they probably hoped before. They start living in their own secluded environment and get involved in extremist networks.

”The law that banned the wearing of head scarves for Muslim girls at schools has obviously played a big role in the start of the riots which one can witness today. However, the law will not be canceled. I think that the chaos in France will last for about two weeks. The riots will eventually result in considerable changes in the French government. However, Le Pen's National Front will never win any elections, in spite of the fact that a lot of people share his theory about the need to expel immigrants from France.

”The French riots may touch upon neighbouring states, such as Belgium, Holland and Italy. Switzerland is not likely, I am not sure about Germany either. As for Great Britain – the July 7 terrorist attacks in the Tube speak for themselves. It is worthy of note that Arabs can travel all across Europe once they obtain residential permit in France. Therefore, this problem needs to be solved in Europe, not just in France. France is unable to handle it alone,” Yury Rubinsky concluded.

Vadim Trukhachev

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