Racism in France

My sister and I were on a train from Paris to Limonges on the way to the Dordogne when our train was stopped in some random town and we were asked to disembark - something about a motorcycle being thrown off a bridge.

We had been waiting for two hours when a new train arrived and the crowd that had been sitting on the platform in the midday heat started gathering their luggage to board.  There was an African woman who, admittedly, was carrying a great deal more than her allowance.  But so was I, so was my sister, and so was nearly everyone else on the train.

When the woman tried to board, one of the conductors started to yell, "This is not acceptable.  This is simply unacceptable.  Why do you think you have the right to do this here?"  The conductor berated the women for a full five minutes.  She did not say a single word.  She was so still, she looked like she had even stopped breathing.  She kept her gaze firmly set on the ground and didn't even dare to look at the tall white man in the authoritative-looking uniform.  I don't remember exactly what he said, but every sentence was a riff on the same idea: "Who do you think you are you stupid African woman?!"

In addition to her suitcase and a backpack or handbag, the woman had a large, very flat cardboard box that was tearing at the edges and was not properly taped.  It was full of fish.  When the conductor realized this, he was livid.  I immediately thought of traveling in a poda poda halfway across Sierra Leone with a deer or something that had been completely dismembered and that sat half on the owner's lap, half on mine. A box of fish didn't seem like a big deal and was hardly out of the ordinary - when put into the proper context.

The conductor looked down at the box in contempt, then kicked it halfway across the platform.  Fish went flying everywhere.  The box, the fish, everything completely ruined.

The black, African woman was clearly humiliated.  The white, French man had all the power - and loved it.  I don't know if scenes like this are common in France, but what struck me most was the fact that while I was filled with rage, the woman was too nervous to even look up, and no one on the platform or in the train even batted an eyelid.  It was as if we all had collectively agreed with the conductor and replied, "Yup, stupid African woman."

I was talking to a college friend who has been studying in Paris the last few years.  She's American by way of Trinidad and thinks about race even more than I do.  Her take on France?  Racism is alive and kicking, as it is in just about every country on this planet, including the United States.  However, unlike in the US, in France there is almost no recognition that race is a problem, no public discussion and no debate.

And I suppose this is what she meant when she said that racism is pervasive but also invisible.  Racism in France is easy to see as an outsider, but accepted as normal and natural by everyone else.  I cannot count the number of times friends and strangers in France described the negative attributes of their cleaning ladies, workers, tenants, etc., and then shrugged their soldiers and said "C'est un black" or "C'est un Polish/Serbian/African/etc." with the "so what do you expect?" part transmitted in a deliberate pause and a knowing look.

My boyfriend would say that Americans are no different; the difference is that in the US, no one says what they really think because they are too "politically correct," and that it is better to be honest (i.e., like Europeans are) than to be a hypocrite.  Maybe he is right, but I rather like that Americans - whatever their private thoughts or unconscious attitudes - impose limits on their public behavior that make it just a little bit easier for everyone, whether or not they are a member of the majority, to live.

July 13, 2006 (I'm a little behind :-)

Comments

[Vincent]

It is very unfortunate for a civilized nation like France to live in this racism error. I am African from Kenya and would like them to imitate USA. though there still exists some mild cases among them, they have integrated to leave that behind understanding human diversity as a strength. Obama being black didn't stop his potential realization. Our cultural diversity should be our heritage. you can imagine a world with just one community, it is a boring world worth no life.

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[François]

Hello everyone,
I am French, from French decent, but not a racist. I can't deny that racism is very present in the French society, as surveys from various organisations (like SOS Racisme) prove it.
Now, I must admit I am quite revolted by some comments that are made on this website. That you have been comfronted to racism in my country is absolutely unacceptable, but is it not also revolting when we are comfronted to racism in your country. I lived in the USA and I now live in Great Britain, and I can assure you that anti-French feeling is no myth in these places of the world either.
The question is certainly not to know who is more racist. I believe the question is to fight racism, and this cannot be done by simply spreading clichés like "the French are arrogant" which are certainly no better than discrimination based on skin colour.

[Sandy]

I am an african American who has always been fascinated by france and the french and because I and some of my friends have never heard very much about racism in france, infact I didn't know there were black people in france until a couple years ago (i'm 18 now) I was shocked by the stories I heard online and in this forum, i'm glad America isn't as racist as france, Im proud of America especially after we elected our first black president, go OBAMA!!!

[Roland]

French are the worst in Europe, in 2002 we had a Far Right candidate for the Elections...

Some of them got heart , thanks GOD, but the bulk of them hate everything that isn't white ( North-Africans, West AFricans, Chinese, Indians etc) and even White:

They Hate Germans, English and Americans

[Simba]

I'm a french black, from DR Congo origin. I'm born and raised in France, I'm still living there.

Believe me, if you want the total truth about racism in france. There's no more any "Public racism" in France, 99.9% of white people doesn't say "Fuckin' nigger" or "Fuckin' arab" or something like dat. No, it's more complex. It's "invisible racism" the racism without a proof. It's very hard for a black or an arab to enter in upper class, without being a sportman or a musician. By the way, which is nice in this country, everybody can go out with everybody, the only problem for being boy & girlfriend is about the Muslim community (An arab girl, can't be (it's not impossible but very hard) with anything else than a muslim guy because of the importance of the male instruction for the child in qu'ran, and jewish and muslims are very dislike), but I mean a black and a white girl can be together without any problem. But the racism in France, came from our cultural problem. In USA, y'all have an "communitarism-politic", in France it's totally the inverse, it's "There's France republic and nothin' else". So, French republic want to us (african people generally) to abandon our culture, and to have only french culture. So, there's a sensation of prison for our people. A black american or a british american can have in his house, a flag of USA ou GB. But you'll never but when I say never, it's clearly NEVER, seen a french people from african descent with a flag of France. The fact is France don't respect us, and use us (from the WWII). One of the most important word of French Declaration of Human Right is that, anyone comin' in France, which became french have the same right than ANY other french people. Which is totally wrong, in real life. That's why some people (actually, the teenagers from african descent, in the suburb of ANY town (not only Paris)), are disappointed, and revolt against the only represent of French republic they see : The Police. Again, the police isn't totally inoccent.

So, the racism in France I could talk about it hour and hour, but it's really long, so I hope my opinion can help you :).

Sorry for my strugglin' english :P

[ely]

invisible racism that's what it is. sorry for you other guys that probably don't speak good french and get abused. lived in north africa, france and the us, and france is from my personal experience very very racist. i happen to blend in easily and i got french friends from french descent even portuguese that are so racist against arabs... there are some that would even befriend a black, a chinese and a north african just so that they could say oh i'm not a racist i got an arab friend, a black one and a chinese one. of course they'll pick the ones that speak excellent french with no accent and behave like them... it kind of give their conscience a break... anyway fuck all racists be it in france or elsewhere.

[Jojo]

OMG!!!

I am palnning to move to Paris in August and I am double thinking whether I should go or not.
I went to Cuba awhile ago and Cubans cant stand the French because they are rude, abnoxious and full of shit (thats what they said).
I go with an open mind and see what happens.

I think if someone calls me "stupid black man", I would knock the shit of him and teach that racist asshole a lesson.

[Jimmy]

i ask myself why nobody of you got involved and stopped the situation. YOU all looked from the side like the locals

[a.ng]

I was in Lyon with 3 other friends (one is Scottish, the other two are Latina and I am Canadian Chinese). We came across this souvenir shop and decided to buy postcards. I was the last to pay and didn't pay attention to how my friends before me were treated. The man at the counter grabbed the postcards from me, tossed them in front of me and then threw my change back at me. Then he walked away. The receipt was still in the machine and I found it odd that i didn't get a paper bag for the postcards (which is always given). So i left, feeling quite bothered. My friends were waiting outside and one of them asked why i didn't get a bag. I saw that they had all received a bag and was so angry that i had indeed been treated unequally. So i stormed back into the shop, found the same man and demanded a bag for my postcards. He gave it to me and after taking it, i left. Whether i had a bag or didn't have one didn't matter to me. Really, i could have cared less. But I had to show that that kind of behaviour is unacceptable and that i won't tolerate being treated that way. I was born and raised in Canada and have not once experienced something like that. i was shocked. It wasn't the first time either that i had change thrown back at me. I love France, it's a beautiful country. But because of the racism and the xenophobia, i could never live there.

[twitter.com/ouanixi]

This one of the reasons that kept me from travelling to France for my studies. Although French is my first language, I thought it was much healthier for my feelings to move to England.
The astonishing fact is that I'm white and that people always think I'm French. But as soon as I say I'm North African .. they wince and back off.

[Samuel]

Hi, I am blackliving in France since 8 years. Inspite of having more than 5 years experiencrand having 3 master degress from top universities, I am unable to find a job because I am colored. The companies do not hesitate to even propose a junior position for an undergrad to me instead of the usual management position that my experience demands. At every level they make you feel as someone unwanted, mock your accent. I always have to ask my wife who is french to call if we need to find an appartment or make an enquiry as generally when they here an accent it is a NO. I have never felt so humilated and my feelings hve taken a serious beating. I am thinking of moving back to my country but I am taking with me so much Hurt and pain!! THIS COUNTRY IS FULL OF RACIST PIGS THINK TWICE EVEN THRICE BEFORE MOVING HERE!!