Racism In France
Raciacist attitudes in the populace and the police are rife. A survey on French attitudes to race, commissioned by the French government and published in June 1998, resulted in 38 percent of the population declaring themselves racist, double the figures for similar surveys in Britain and Germany, and the Front National , a neo-fascist, racist party, headed by Jean-Marie Le Pen , won fifteen percent of the vote in the last parliamentary elections. Support for the party was highest in Provence and the Cote d'Azur, where by 1997 four cities had Front National mayors. The Front National's alliance with conservatives has led to changes in educational, cultural and sporting and programmes to suit its policies; the party's fundamental priority is the withdrawal of benefits to immigrants who have not yet been granted French citizenship. However, the mood in France altered after the 1998 World Cup victory of its multicultural team and Le Pen was forced to modify some of his racist statements. Since then the party has fractured and lost popularity (with it and the splinter group rated at about nine percent), so the next round of elections may change the current unpleasant state of affairs. It will take a long time for the warm glow created by the World Cup to transform France into a racially tolerant country, and for the moment being black, particularly if you are Arab or look as if you might be, makes your chances of avoiding unpleasantness very low. Hotels claiming to be booked up, police demanding your papers and abuse from ordinary people is horribly frequent. In addition, even entering the country can be difficult. Changes in passport regulations have put an end to outright refusal to let some British holiday-makers in, but customs and immigration officers can still be obstructive and malicious. In North African-dominated areas of cities, identity checks by the police are very common and not pleasant. The clampdown on illegal immigration (and much tougher laws) has resulted in a significant increase in police stop-and-search operations. Carrying your passport at all times is a good idea. If you suffer a racial assault , you're likely to get a much more sympathetic hearing from your consulate than from the police. There are many anti-racism organizations which will offer support (though they may not have English-speakers): Mouvement contre le Racisme et pour l'Amitie entre les Peuples (MRAP) and SOS Racism have offices in most big cities.
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