Wrapped in a Cultural Misunderstanding/ Enveloppé dans la Mésentente Culturelle

If you come to Paris, you will notice that a hot topic here is the issue of immigration specifically immigration from Arab countries. There is a serious clash between many French and Muslim people. The answer for why falls under a few categories- the first of which is referred to as “Laïcité.” Laïcité is similar to the American idea of secularism. Religion here is under the radar. One French attorney referred to it as “a private sphere.”  In America, people are used to discussing religion at the dinner table, wearing religious symbols and using it as a guide to many political and social decisions. In other words, it is in the “public sphere.” The United States embraces multiculturalism and prides itself in being a mixing pot of cultures. On college applications, the US system awards you for being from a different background. On job resumes, the US system celebrates people who are bilingual. We allow for yamakas, crosses, and head scarves. In Paris though, things are different.

Wearing your religious symbol for all to see would be equivalent to wearing your underwear outside your pants. It puts those around you in an uncomfortable position. You can see then why many French and Muslims would butt heads. To many Muslim people, religion isn’t something to keep locked up inside one’s home; it is something that guides everyday lives. To many, it is something that needs to be in the “public sphere.” And so, many Muslims want their religion to guide their everyday lives- they want to wear their hijabs, pray in the streets (because there is a limited number of Mosques), and some even want gender-oriented gym classes and swimming pools. But to the French this doesn’t make sense. Why would they want to do this? For the French culture, religion should not be part of one’s everyday life.  And this misunderstanding, you see, is the catalyst to many of the tensions. If this were the only problem though, it would be manageable. Things could be worked out. The real problem here is the timing.

Right now, the use of the French language and culture is declining. French schools are teaching more and more classes in English, international schools are replacing the typical French/ Spanish option with Mandarin and Arabic.  There is an influx of immigrants to France from all around the world. And so the pure, “Gallois” French cultural is changing. All of a sudden a people whose entire family tree is from France, who speak French with a French accent, who understand the subtle cleverness of the language are being “infiltrated” by people who are not Gallois and view certain issues differently than the French. And this scares many people. Especially the Conservative French population who are trying to hold on to the days of The French Republic.

Arab Immigrants, clearly fit into this “other” section. They have made the decision to move to France, but are not interested in assimilating into the French standards. And here is where the problems begin. Because unlike the States that allows for a “tossed salad” society, the French society expects everyone to not only conform, but have the desire to conform to the French identity, image and values.

So the danger holds not just in la Laicite or le Gallois, but in the timing. Because all of a sudden the French have a reason to be in panic. They are losing their language, and now they have someone to point a finger at. The Muslims. The Muslims who refuse to accept the French culture, cause impurity to the “Gallois” race, and are therefore easily a victim for groups like The National Front who are looking for a group to blame.

The scary part is this all sounds too eerily familiar. A group to blame for the decline of a society. Hitler and the Nazi party started on the same ground. They were in fear of Germany losing its National Identity, and therefore looked for a minority to blame- the Jews.

Luckily, France is not in the exact same position as Germany was. It only has a small percentage that belongs to these extremist, anti-immigrant groups, and most importantly France has a leader that speaks out against it.

Earlier this week, there was a debate over whether President Hollande had the right to ban five Neo-Nazi groups just in the last week, and whether he should have the right to prosecute people that partake in hate speech like a French Mayor who stated last month that “Hitler should have killed more Gypsys.” Many argue that this is a violation of the treasured freedom of speech; however, I am starting to understand why it is necessary.

In this turbulent time, when tensions are running high in the anti-immigrant extremist parties, and people are looking for someone to blame for this decline in French language and culture, it is all too easy to point fingers at the Muslim people. It is now that Hollande must rebuke all racism groups and comments before turmoil erupts. Because if he doesn’t, who knows what will happen?

And so, the Parisians and the Muslims have clearly reached a cultural misunderstanding. Wrapped in it are head scarves and prayer books, Laicite and Gallois, but hopefully somewhere deep down is an opportunity for the French to adapt to a more multicultural approach to keep up with the changing world.