Cultural Diversity in Contemporary France: Acceptance or Assimilation - Essay Example

Cultural Diversity Running Head: DIVERSITY IN CONTEMPORARY FRANCE Cultural Diversity in Contemporary France: Acceptance or Assimilation Your Name Your School Class Name Professor Name November 7, 2005 Cultural Diversity 1 Cultural Diversity in Contemporary France: Acceptance or Assimilation While French policy does not officially recognize the existence of minorities - instead all are simply considered citizens of France - the reality today is that many minorities in that country believe they are treated as second-class citizens. Especially in the Moslem population, where unemployment and poverty rates are high, there is a feeling that the native French population has not truly accepted them. In addition, Beck (2005) notes that France's controversial ban on the wearing of conspicuous religious symbols in public primary and secondary schools is widely believed to have been designed to specifically target Moslems. In light of the realities in French society today, an understanding of how they approach diversity is vital. The widely publicized unrest currently playing out in the streets of Paris and neighboring suburbs, has brought unwanted attention to some of the long-standing issues relating to how France has attempted to address the diversity of their population. Scenes of burning vehicles, rioters in the streets, and public protests of government policies, cause many to question what is at the root of such anger. As is usually the case when certain segments of a population engage in such vandalism and violence, it matters little what specific event triggered such a reaction. When residents feel disenfranchised, they become like a dry brush pile that is simply waiting for a match to be carelessly tossed. Before attempting to address the specifics of the grievances of the Islamic population as it relates to diversity, it is necessary to look back to the formation of the French Republic. According to Osler and Starkey (2002), the need to consolidate support Cultural Diversity 2 for the Third Republic, in 1871, made it necessary for citizen education to become a high priority for the government. Such instruction, beginning in the public schools, was termed 'instruction morale et civique', and was viewed as even more important than learning to read or write. That original goal of citizen education, which continues down to today, was to help integrate a diverse population into a single national culture. While individual families were welcome to train their children according to certain values, such values were never to take the place of the governing values promoted by the Republic. (Costa-Lascoux 1998) Francois Stasse attempted to explain how this original concept translates into the modern era when he stated; "The notion of equality progressively comes to mean that all citizens confronted by a similar situation should be treated identically under the law. This means that no distinction can be made between citizens on the basis of race, religion or national origin." (Stasse 1997) In theory, that sounds like an admirable policy. But has France actually been able to produce that environment Under the French system - or at least under its founding principles - a strict separation must exist between religion and the schools. While this policy is rigorously enforced when it comes to Moslem or Jewish teachings, public funds currently support a large number of public schools - over 90% of which are Catholic. (Limage 2000) As a result Jews, Moslems, and others, who have no public support or major voice in France, are required to practice their religious and cultural diversity strictly in private - while the majority religion reaps public and monetary support. Examining French cultural history even up to this point should begin to raise Cultural Diversity 3 some red flags in regards to a country that has long claimed to champion civil rights, individual self-expression, and secularism. It would appear that the French would prefer individuals be completely assimilated into mainstream culture as opposed to welcoming a truly diverse populace. In contrast to the stated policies of the United States - which attempt to recognize, and even celebrate diverse cultures and heritage - France attempts to ignore differences. While this may, at first, seem logical if a country is to truly treat each citizen as equal, the reality is that most individuals are not favorably disposed to consider their cultural heritage as irrelevant. The French Republic fears that the population will (disastrously) splinter into ghettos and ethnic neighborhoods if everyone were to openly embrace their own diverse ethnicity. Due, in large part, to these attitudes, it should not have been a surprise when France sought to ban the wearing of overt religious symbols in public schools. The Moslem population was outraged, and appropriately so, according to Ruti Teitel (2004), a professor at New York Law School, in her concise article entitled "Through the Veil Darkly". She states, "Purportedly, the justification for the proposed French law is that though it will coerce uniformity, it will do so in the name of "equality." Yet, this asserted aim attempts to mask the law's true purposes." If you think about this law for a minute, you will be able to see how it is thinly veiled religious discrimination. The traditional Islamic head scarf (the hijab), originally the only target of the proposed law, was joined by the Jewish skullcap, and 'oversized' crosses in the final draft. However, a Christian could easily wear the cross inside his or her shirt or blouse. Not to mention that the predominantly Catholic majority will be determining the very Cultural Diversity 4 definition of 'oversized'. Those who faithfully wear traditional religious garb, do not have that option. Mounting an obvious attack against religious pluralism, while at the same time claiming to promote cultural and religious diversity, is hypocritical. French officials even attempt to cover their tracks by claiming that banning religious garb will free young Islamic girls who do not want to wear the scarf. I am sure that French officials have been swamped with calls from distraught youngsters in this horrible position. Bernard Stasi, who headed the commission, made the following statement: "Moslems must understand that secularism is a chance for Islam. Secularism is the separation of church and state, but it is also the respect of differences." (Henley 2003) How, precisely, does a country whose very concept of diversity is based on the premise that differences should be ignored, now claim to promote respect of differences The President of France, Jacques Chirac, has been quoted (Ganley 2003) as saying, "...wearing a veil in France was seen as 'a sort of aggression.'" Does that sound like a respect for differences The argument has been repeatedly made that the rise of Islamic fundamentalism in France is the sole factor motivating the current insistence on a literal return to the essentials of secularism - known in French as lacit. The word is said to mean primarily, tolerance. But, who is defining tolerance Insisting that there be no individualism, or that each and every citizen be treated exactly the same as another, would carry more weight if the Catholic majority were not treated as being more equal than others. To claim that France has achieved true diversity is to ignore reality. To imply that France is an example of tolerance seems almost laughable. Cultural Diversity 5 I find it truly ironic that, according to the Oxford Dictionary of English (2005), one of the early origins of the word 'diversity' is the French word 'diverte' - which means 'separate'. Hence, true diversity means social inclusiveness or ethnic variety in a society. It means accepting and embracing cultural, racial, ethnic, or religious differences, not seeking to inhibit, restrict, or even demonize those differences. Many of the suburbs of Paris populated by Moslems - called banlieues - are racked with unemployment and poverty. The fact that these areas even exist today, even though many belong to families that have been in France for two or more generations, is an indictment of France's stated policies of diversity and a truly 'Republican' society. France has been accommodating immigrants for years, and promotes itself as a country that successfully blends foreign newcomers into French society. According to an article entitled "How Racist is France" (1998), the reality is that in France the notion of multicultural diversity, more widely preached in the United States and Britain, has been generally rejected in favor of assimilation. "Foreigners arriving in France must understand that from henceforth their ancestors are the Gauls and that they have a new homeland'', explained former Interior Minister Jean-Claude Barreau. (The Economist 1998) As discussed earlier, that is the primary goal of the public schools in France. Even more shocking than the lack of true diversity in France, is the result of the study - cited in the previous paragraph - which was conducted regarding French citizen's views regarding racism. ("How Racist is France" 1998) In it, over 28% admit to being racist. This, of course, begs the question; if four in ten readily admit to being racist, how many more racists are there that were not so forthcoming Additionally, this survey was Cultural Diversity 6 taken over seven years ago - before anti-Islamic sentiment became widespread in the country. Surely those numbers would be higher if the survey were administered today. Although racism exists in every country and culture, those numbers are over twice as high as other countries in Europe. Although it appears that Moslems have not been genuinely accepted into French society, primarily due to their refusal to abandon traditional beliefs and dress, another attempt at diversity has been under way. From the early 1980s up to today, Islamic groups within France have been attempting to create some form of unified Islam within the country. (Limage 2000) Under the leadership of various temporary groups, alliances, and intellectuals, such attempts have met with sporadic success. Some of the goals that such groups hope to attain have precedent in the Jewish community. The points made in this essay may best be summarized by utilizing some thoughts from Robert Albro's (2005) succinct writing on cultural rights. One point he makes is: "The UN has connected diversity to human rights in several ways, understanding the plurality in culture as a reservoir needed for freedoms and as inseparable from a democratic framework." It is worth noting that France was one of the main sponsors of the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) "Convention on the Protection of the Diversity of Cultural Contents and Artistic Expressions," commonly abbreviated as the "cultural diversity convention." that was recently enacted. The report treats diversity as a matter of "individual freedoms," and as a means of "expanding individual choices," and in so doing aligns diversity with choice. Along those same lines, Tyler Cohen has written on globalization and reaches Cultural Diversity 7 similar conclusions as Albro. He asserts, "UNESCO has repeatedly emphasized that diversity is endangered by the ways globalization can encourage homogenization." (Cohen 2002) Adding these thoughts to the previous discussion highlights the inconsistencies in France's claim of promoting diversity. Homogenization is viewed as a negative force, and yet the Republican ideals of France seem to encourage it. The cultural diversity convention - sponsored by France - emphasizes individual freedoms and expanding individual choices, while France consistently discourages the same. It seems evident that France, by attempting to assimilate non-native citizens into their culture instead of truly allowing diversity, has failed on both counts. The future for positive ethnic relations within that country - particularly with the Islamic minority - seem to be seriously in doubt. Cultural Diversity 8 References Albro, R. and Bauer, J. (2005) "Cultural Rights: What They Are, Why They Matter, How They Can be Realized." Human Rights Dialogue Series 2 (12). Beck, D. "French ban on religious garb in schools prompts protest" San Jose Mercury News. 28 October 2005 Cowen, T. (2002) Creative Destruction: How Globalization is Changing the World's Cultures. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Ganley, E. "France Eyes Headscarf Ban" The Boston Globe. 12 December 2003 Henley, J. "France to Ban Pupils' Religious Dress" The Guardian,12 December 2003 "How racist is France" The Economist. 07/18/98, Vol. 348 Issue 8077, p43 Limage, L. J. Education and Muslim Identity: The Case of France, Comparative Education, 03050068, Feb 2000, Vol. 36, Issue 1 Osler, A. and Starkey, H. "Citizenship Education and Cultural Diversity in France and England." Comparative European Politics. Palgrave Macmillan. 2002 Soanes, B. and Stevenson, A. Oxford Dictionary of English Revised Edition. 0-19-861057-2. Publication date: 11 August 2005 Teitel, R. "Through the Veil, Darkly: Why France's Ban on the Wearing of Religious Symbols Is Even More Pernicious Than It Appears". FindLaw's Legal Commentary Online. 16 February 2004 9 Number 36 26 October 2005 Read More