French Politiques for an Anglophone Audience
Last month, on Saturday, March 16, a group of twenty young people attacked several RER D train carriages – public transportation that links the city of Paris and its outskirts – at the ‘Grigny Centre’ station. The train was headed towards Essonne, a notoriously dangerous part of the Ile-de-France region. At around 10:00 in the […]
After a period of relative calm at the end of 2012, Sarkozy-like evacuations of the Roma have sprung up throughout France in the new year. Commonly known as “gypsies,” the Roma are a nomadic group originating mainly from Romania and Bulgaria. They are often the topic of extremely tense debates centering on immigration and government […]
Minister Manuel Valls rekindled the tense dialogues surrounding the Romani community in France. In an interview with Le Figaro, Valls did not hide his intent to maintain, if not intensify, strict policies pertaining to Romani camps and the integration of racial groups. He stated, “the situation has become intolerable, and it cannot continue. It is […]
Last week, the French Senate adopted a proposition for a new law that would grant amnesty towards those who committed crimes during social movements. This text, which will need to be examined by the National Assembly, is sharply critiqued by employers and opposing political parties, who see it as a blank check for violence. The […]
Over the past several weeks, the French Council of State has been meeting in regard to the issue of government officials holding multiple offices at the same time. This practice, called cumul des mandats, is similar to our “double-dipping” and the British “double-jobbing.” It has been an ongoing problem, but a solution has finally been […]
Protests have broken out across Tunisia in response to the murder of Chokri Belaid, the left-wing human rights activist and head of the Democratic Patriots Movement. Belaid, 48, was gunned down outside of his home on Wednesday, February 6. A lawyer and opponent of the ruling Islamist party Ennahda, Belaid was a champion of a […]
On Thursday October 18th, French Interior Minister Manuel Valls announced that he sent a document to the prefects, which altered naturalization conditions. Namely, Valls removed the multiple-choice questions (QCM) about French culture and history, as well as the obligation to have signed a contract of indeterminate length (CDI). He presented this reform four months ago, […]
On October 2nd, seven policemen in the Marseille anti-crime brigade (BAC) were arrested and five others were placed under judicial control because of the suspicion of involvement with stolen money and drug dealers. Manuel Valls, Interior Minister, announced that he suspended them from their functions and that the North BAC day team, to which the […]
On Saturday October 6, a man was shot down and 11 others, all suspected of terrorism, were arrested and placed into custody. The arrests were a direct consequence of a police investigation triggered by an attack against a Jewish shop on September 19. Three policemen were injured lightly in trying to arrest the leader of […]
President Hollande’s government struggles to define immigration laws for Romani people, an ever-persisting issue in France. The topic is clouded by confusion, from the policies to the simplest statistics. Some say 15,000 live in Paris alone. Others tally the French total to 15,000. Owing to their complicated status as nomads, the Romani face difficulty integrating […]
