À DÉTESTER: la xénophobie (xenophobia)

As I was walking home last week, I was greeted by a not-so-friendly message from the FNJ — the youth arm of Jean-Marie Le Pen's ultra-nationalist party le Front National (FN).  Within the stencil of la belle France are the words "AIMEZ-LÀ OU QUITTEZ-LÀ."  In English that translates to "France: Love it or Leave it." 

If these eager young nationalists were talking to all French citizens — "Hey compatriots, love it or leave it!" — the slogan might be crass, but not terribly offensive.  Mais non, they are addressing immigrants, a group of people that, by the FN's definition, includes French citizens whose parents were born in France. 

How do I know this message is targeted at immigrants and their offspring and not all of the people who call France home? First, because the FN would never tell those that they consider to be "les vrais français" to love it or leave it because, as every French man and woman admits, the French are world-class râleurs (complainers) and if every français who complained about the country had to leave, there would be nobody left. Second, the FNJ's former slogan, "Les Françaises aux Français" (French Women for French Men), gives their true intentions away, as does the current slogan of their parent organization: "We defend our colors."  (If the words don't say it strongly enough, the image does: the raised fist of a Caucasian male, clutching the French flag.)

I have never been a fan of scrawled profanity in public spaces, but this time I was rather glad to see an English speaker's blunt response to les FN Jeunes and I was even more heartened by the poetic response in Spanish: Without borders, without flags.

It's a nice sentiment.  Unfortunately, with the debate on l'identité nationale (national identity) raging in France, and the country's regional elections approaching (March 14 and 21), it is not one that will be heard often.

FAST FACTS ON WORLD IMMIGRATION

Country Percentage of international migrants*

France 10.7

Germany 13.1

United States 13.5

Canada 21.3

Switzerland 23.2

Singapore 40.7

Source: United Nations, http://un.org.

* The UN's definition of an "international migrant" is a person who was born in a country different from the one in which they live.

Comments

[Diogenes]

Fascinating post. I tend to forget these people exist in France. They are the equivalent, I think, of the "teabaggers" in the US, who "want their country back."

Do you think FNJ is primarily race-focused? i.e., if you are white and from Canada, Ireland, etc do you get a free pass from them?

[J.A.]

They are very much like the "teabaggers" (!) in the U.S. The party is anti-immigration, and although they seem to be particularly focused on African and North African immigrants, they are no fans of the Canadians, Irish, English, Americans and Australians in France who, according to some FN members, "are stealing their houses" (by buying French homes and fixing them up).

— J.A.

[Bronwyn]

Ick! Which part of Paris is this?

[J.A.]

Hi Bronwyn,

The photo was taken in the 18ème — Montmartre.

— J.A.

[Lila]

Doesn't anybody look at Paris and say, "My God, what is happening to this city?" I know SO many people who visited Paris 15 years ago or so, and then visited recently, only to say they will never come back becaues it feels like they're living in a ghetto. It's not immigration in itself that is the problem; it is the religious tendencies of these immigrants.

It isn't racism. I have many, many French African friends in Paris who feel the same way; plainly put, there are certain groups of immigrants who the country would be much, much better and safer without.

It's a sad day when someone is called xenophobic, racist etc etc simply because they are acute enough to look around at Paris and realise that in 20 years, the place will be a dive.

When a group of immigrants ADD to the culture of a country, that's a great thing. When they integrate and accept the culture of the country they choose to live in and have the privilege of living in, fantastic. But when groups come to countries and say, "No, we will not accept your culture. We actually dislike and sometimes despise the way you live. We want to kill you. There are people among us that would like to see mass harm done to you, and we will stand by those people because they are our 'brothers' and 'sisters', then that is a problem.

Doesn't anyone else see this? It is not racism or xenophobia. It's not a baseless, idiotic racism based on skin colour. It's not racial profiling. It's called being realistic, and that's something the left-wing do-gooders refuse to do.

[Adam]

Just a small point - "Mais non, they are addressing immigrants, a group of people that, by the FN's definition, includes French citizens whose parents were born in France"

Shouldn't you remove 'immigrants' from this sentence?

[J.A.]

Adam,

Yes I should — the problem is, in France, many people consider "immigrants" to include 2nd- and 3rd-generation French citizens. An example: a woman born in France to an Algerian mother and an Italian father is still considered an immigrant by some members of French society (and, indeed, if her parents did not secure her citizenship at birth, she would not be a legal citizen).

There was an excellent article in Le Monde recently about this very issue; hundreds of French-born citizens have been hassled while renewing their passports because their parents (or grandparents) were foreign-born. They were all asked to prove their French nationality before they could have their passports renewed. Here is the link:

http://www-org.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2010/01/12/je-constate-que-ma-nationalite-francaise-n-est-pas-une-propriete-mais-un-bail-precaire_1290367_3224.html

— J.A.

[Martin]

So for the FNJ, if I'm an immigrant from North Africa, but I truly love France, then there's no problem, right? Unless I love France so much that I buy a house and fix it up, in which case there is a problem again. What to do?!

[Adam]

J.A - I don't dispute the fact that there is a problem here, but the word 'immigrants' in your sentence comes from you only. The logic of your sentence would be the same if the word/classification was there or not. Perhaps 'immigrants' would be better.

Anyway, let's not forget that Sarkozy himself has a father who was born outside France!

Anyway,

[karin maier]

Interesting post and follow up comments. This sort of thing is happening in Australia too - with tshirts printed with the Australian flag and text saying things like 'If you don't like it here Fuck Off."

What is wrong with people retaining their religion and culture? That is the wonderful part of immigration. Yes there needs to be social inclusion but the diversity immigration offers is what makes my country a better place.