Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Economic Inequality in the Land of Egalite - The French Civil Unrest of 2005

http://home.comcast.net/~lkrakauer/france04/FranceMap03.gif & http://www.37signals.com/svn/images/wfran08big.gif

Why Are We Interested in Looking at This Conflict

France is the country that gave the world the concept of the Republic and democracy through the French Revolution. However, things are not well for democracy here. The race riots of 2005 highlight a lot of structural inequality where people of colour cannot get equal opportunities for education and employment. Being a Democracy is not enough to ensure having a society that's truly equal for all.

Questions that You MUST Answer for Your Presentation
  1. What happened in this conflict? You may wish to consider the following:
    • Historical timeline
    • Profile of the main players/parties involved in this conflict
    • Impact on the country, neighbouring countries in the region and the world.
    • Or anything else you find significant.
  2. What do you think are the KEY REASONS that led to this conflict becoming full-blown?
  3. But this conflict wasn't triggered by race alone. What other forces have contributed to the creation of this conflict or helped to worsen it?
  4. What are your group's reflections after completing your research?
  5. There are some similarities to problems or challenges faced by present-day Singapore. Please share with the class what these are. (DO NOT COMPARE WITH SINGAPORE’S RACE RIOTS; )
  6. Bonus question: Mention solutions that have not yet been implemented by Singapore.
You may wish to start your research by getting to know this conflict using the sources below. However, you are encouraged to add your own sources as you do additional research on this topic.

A Wikipedia Summary

The 2005 civil unrest in France of October and November was a series of riots and violent clashes, involving mainly the burning of cars and public buildings at night starting on October 27, 2005 in Clichy-sous-Bois. Events spread to poor housing projects (the cités HLM) in various parts of France. A state of emergency was declared on November 8, 2005. It was extended for three months on 16 November by the Parliament.[1][2][3] The biggest riots since the May 1968Clichy-sous-Bois, a working-class commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, who were chased by the police and tried to hide from the police in a power substation where they were electrocuted. unrest were triggered by the accidental death of two teenagers, Zyed Benna and Bouna Traoré, in the eastern suburbs of Paris, who were chased by the police and tried to hide from the police in a power substation where they were electrocuted.

Visions from the Past

A News Summary with a Good Social Anaylsis of the French Riots 2005

A video from a conservative French Caucasian POV -
(A Good Source for Analysing Hidden Racism Against the Muslim French)
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