« No APEC, No Bush | Main | Questioning the Christian Right's presence in politics »
November 13, 2005
A French lesson to learn
Quite surprisingly in November 11th Italian newspaper La Repubblica the Minister for Inner Affairs, Giuseppe Pisanu, warns against the risk that our city suburbs may experience the same revolt as the French “banlieues”.
Just a few days before, the same Minister had stated that Italy would not run the same risk as France. According to his analysis Italy’s main problems were: terrorism, unauthorized immigration and organized criminality (mafia, camorra, n’drangeta). Pisanu’s latest statement appears to have taken into account the recent analyses of opinion makers and psycho sociologists aimed at answering the following questions: who are the French violent young people? What do they want? How can they be handled?
Who are they? On the 8th of November “Otto e mezzo” at La7Tv has invited, besides some Italian guests, the French sociologist Catherine de Wenders and the social operator Fedela Amara to debate the subject. In spite of their different political orientations the guests all agreed: those French sons, second or third generation of immigrants, have the same look and attitude as those young violent people (Dissidents, Black Bloks and Squatters) who have demonstrated against Bush in Rio del Plata or in Genoa during the G8.
What do they want? On this point opinions diverge. Left leaning analysts insist on the youth’s request for equal rights, equal chances for employment, a better standard of life, and the end of their social marginalization. The conservatives insists on the fact that Paris’ protesting youth (the “casseurs”) like the violent youth all over the world, do not aim at anything in particular but destroying.
To strengthen this opinion Renzo Foa, political editorialist at “Il Giornale” writes on November the 9th that “nihilism” is the most appropriate word to describe the devastating vague of violence investing the French “banlieues.”
What to do? “Il Sole-24 ore”, newspaper of the Italian Industry Association, analyses under the title “Il disagio dell’altra Francia” the failure of French immigration policy. Too much statism, concludes the newspaper, has in fact inhibited those sons of immigrants any wish of integration and social growth.
According to “Il Riformista” newspaper of the Reforming Left, the model to follow would be the American one. Which means: 1) Strict respect of the law, more severe punishments for criminals. 2) Reforming the job market to increase employment. 3) Concrete opportunities for urban minorities for progressing and improving their status provided that they respect the rules of society.
This is not enough according to Giuliano Ferrara, editor of “Il Foglio”. What matters lays in the word “westernization”, i.e. to become member of our western society, the significance of a strong, but not arrogant, identity to be proud of. In other words it would be necessary to show those young people that their existence and work are based on economical and political freedom rather than on State assistance.
Posted November 13, 2005 10:05 PM
Comments
Post a comment
Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)