Dear Frenchie, where do the French stand, Obama or Hillary? And why are the French so amenable to anti-Semitism? What’s with this Dieudonné? And what’s with their rock music? — Garth
(Les français sont pour qui, Obama ou Hillary? Et pourquoi les français ont une tendance antisémite? C’est quoi cette histoire avec Dieudonné? Et c’est quoi l’histoire avec leur musique rock?)
Dear Garth,
Your questions could keep me busy for the rest of 2008. I will try to answer them briefly (and perhaps I can get some real “Frenchies” to chime in).
Where do the Americans stand, Obama or Hillary?
This is the question Parisiens are asking me. Unfortunately, I don’t have a concrete answer for them, or for you. I can say, however, that people are interested — the American election is in the news here every day — and everyone wants to know more, particularly about Barack Obama. They already know a lot about Hillary Clinton, and they like and respect former president Bill Clinton. As far as the Republican candidates are concerned, well, let’s just say that nobody here is hoping for a Republican victory.
Next subject: Dieudonné and anti-Semitism in France. For those of you who have never heard of Dieudonné M’Bala M’Bala, he is a French comedian and avowed anti-Semite. I would like to dismiss him the way a French friend did last Saturday night — as “an idiot” — but that would be too easy.
Dieudonné is a crafty guy who uses the very real problem of racism in France and public opposition to the politics of the United States and Israel to attack Jews. The world according to Dieudonné goes like this: You live in a terrible housing project in a depressing banlieue (suburb) of Paris and you can’t find a job because you’re black or Arab? It’s the fault of the Jews, who are all rich and on television and live in the posh 16th arrondissement of Paris. You are against the war in Iraq? Well again, it’s the Jews who started it. Everyone knows Israel and the United States are in cahoots . . .
This is classic scapegoating, and there is just enough truth in Dieudonné’s rants (the U.S. and Israel are allies; the Jewish community in France generally does pretty well for itself, and many of the nation’s entertainment stars are Jews) to fool those who are looking for someone to blame.
As to your question, why are the French so amenable to anti-Semitism? I’m not sure that they, as a society, are, anymore than, say, the British or Americans. If you read French, check out this 2003 article in Le Monde Diplomatique; it revealed that 89% of French consider French Jews to be no different from any other French person, and 80% believe the country does not talk enough about the Holocaust. Also, Tom Reiss of the The New Yorker wrote a hefty article on Dieudonné last fall.
Now, about French rock. After years of being ignored and ridiculed, even by French people, it has found its way into the limelight, and for good reason: there are some great bands out there. For those who have never listened to any French rock (or pop), here are a few artists to sample:
Air
Benjamin Biolay
Daisybox*
M
Manu Chao
Nouvelle Vague
Phoenix
Tahiti 80
* Your foreign correspondent must confess that she knows the members of this band personally.
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