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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.

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