The fight against urban apartheid

The drama in Clichy-sous-Bois would have had less serious repercussions if so-called problem areas had not found themselves at the point of intersection of three major crises: social, post-colonial and concerning political representation…”Integration” was a very seductive concept when it emerged during the 1980s. Unlike “assimilation”, it seemed capable of respecting the culture, traditions, language and religion of France’s new citizens. But it turned out to be a trap. The failure of integration should have raised questions about a society incapable of guaranteeing the equal rights and opportunities of all its children, whatever their country of origin, creed or colour. Instead the finger was pointed at youngsters from the banlieues, as if accusing them of not making the effort to integrate.

It is a question not just of basic morality, but also of national interest. The children of yesterday’s immigrants and their descendants have little chance of a decent life while they remain excluded from French society. And the nation has equally little chance of surviving its current crisis if it deprives itself of the support, energies and abilities of a tenth of its population… If we want to end ghettoisation we must speed up regeneration in poor areas and encourage diversity in rich ones. But this will take tens of billions of euros and the political will to implement new planning laws introduced to promote urban renewal and combat social segregation…

Excerpted from ‘Le Monde Diplomatique’, December 25