Cicilie among the Parisians

Apart from a visit to the cemetery with about 50% of the French population on All Saints’ Day (La fête de la Toussaint) and a visit to the Institut du monde arabe for the exhibition L’âge d’or des sciences arabes, fieldwork the last week has mostly consisted of watching TV and reading newspapers. If it weren’t for the media, I would have no idea that the Paris region is making it to the headlines many places in the world. The media, on the other hand, is - not surprisingly - full of it.

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Between “civil war” and “end of republicanism” - and the state of emergency paragraph from the war in Algeria...

“Civil war” is of course Le Pen polemic. But besides that, Front National has been taking it very easy lately; perhaps they don’t really have to say much at all in the present situation. So to my long time favourite, the well-oriented and critical The Guardian: Why do they ask if this is the end of the republican model of integration? From quite a few French perspectives it seems paradoxical that these riots, class riots almost, should mean the end of striving towards equality and solidarity. Why not interpret it as the end of hyper liberalism, or indeed capitalism, instead? And last; the law paragraph now in use, dates from the war in Algeria, a fact mentioned over and over again, in newspapers, TV and radio. What does that mean? Not to forget; what does it mean to grandsons of the Algerians experiencing the state of emergency in 1955?

There are also real youth, whom we must help… Interior Minister Sarkozy has not really been up to it when making public statements lately, to say it the least.

Poèsie de banlieue

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