According to rahyafte (the missionaries and converts website): Nael Marzouq, a young French-Algerian, was killed by the French police. This sparked protests against the police and the government. It also brought up the problem of violence and discrimination against minorities in France.
Some critics and political experts think that the French government’s policies to fight extremism and Muslim separatism are really about restricting Muslims and making them second-class citizens.
These political experts say that to know why many young French people turn to violence, we need to look at what’s happening in France. According to experts, Islamophobic and racist atmosphere prevails in this European country with Islamophobia being at the core of French politics in recent years.
To further discuss the issue, out to Catherine Wihtol de Wenden, a French political scientist.
What follows is the full text of the interview about recent protests in France:
We saw protests in different French cities due to the violence of the French police. What do you think is the root of these protests?
Wihtol de Wenden: The bad level of training on this topic for policemen has been known for a long time, but quite nothing was made to improve their consciousness about discrimination, evaluation of the situation, rules of management of the hierarchy and respect of the truth in the testifies of colleagues (they tend to protect them each other) For policemen, some “visible” people are not part of the Nation State. They are seen as enemies.
Some believe that the behavior and attitude of the French statesmen towards the minorities of the French society has caused violent reactions like the recent events. How true is this?
Wihtol de Wenden: Yes, but is t is a long story of murders in inner cities by policemen with street protests when young were killed. Since the 90s, populations living in those places are very reactive to these misbehaviors
French racial and religious minorities, such as Muslims, believe that the pressures of the French government under the pretext of fighting extremism have caused them to be marginalized in French society. How true is this opinion?
Wihtol de Wenden: I think they are marginalized not just due to Islam but to poverty, unemployment, trade of drugs and to the memory of the Algerian wars. Inside policemen, this culture of the memory of this event has not yet been abandoned.
In your opinion, what measures should the French government take to prevent the recurrence of these incidents?
Wihtol de Wenden: Training the police. Policemen are protected by governments in France because they preserve their security. It does not mean “impunité”.
The second proposal is punishing severely the policemen when they commit a murder. In the past, many of them were not condemned.
The third proposal is morality inside the police to avoid the protection of themselves they develop in their discourses instead of saying the truth, which disqualifies them.
Do you think French society will witness similar violence in the future?
Wihtol de Wenden: Yes, if nothing is done.
Catherine Wihtol de Wenden is the Research Director at the French National Centre for Scientific Research and a senior researcher at the Institute for International Political Studies. Wihtol de Wenden specializes in migration studies. She is also an activist for the right to immigration in France.
Interview by Mohammad Hassan Goodarzi
iqna
