An interview with Pap Ndiaye on France 24 discussing the situation of blacks and other minorities in France. Not addressing immigration directly, but rather the condition of being French and non-white, Pap Ndiaye articulates so clearly and constructively the experience of being a minority in France.
Immigration and multiculturalism are two issues I paid very close attention to while living in France, and I quickly found that French approach contrasts starkly with the Canadian model of multiculturalism. In France the idea is that, in principle, all citizens are equal and shall not be discriminated against or singled out because of their race or religion. This idea is taken quite literally and in that context it becomes easier to understand, for example, the move to ban headscarves in French schools, an effort that seems to contradict most ideas of pluralism, at least from a North American point of view. In fact the French see the wearing of a headscarf as a sort of marker that identifies a person as part of a group and therefore unfairly singling them out and leaving them open to discrimination. In addition, showing one’s culture or religion so openly is often seen as an imposition on others. Being French is apparently the best defense against an unjust society.
The danger in this type of glossing over of differences is that cultures that are not French risk losing legitimacy and value within French society while putting undue pressures on those in minority groups trying to be accepted as full members of the larger society. The reason being that these minorities do look different, they often do have non-French names, and they often do have cultural identities that are more than simply French. This poses an obstacle for the individual who must consider themselves carefully to be sure to present themselves and their identities appropriately to the rest of society, and it doesn’t adequately prepare the society to incorporate these individuals and their new characteristics.
I was lucky enough to have many opportunities to discuss the French model of multiculturalism with my students in Paris and they were always keenly interested in how we do things in Canada. Most students where surprised and even shocked that our government actively encourages the celebration of cultural differences and fosters them even among second and third generation Canadians.
It wouldn’t be fair though to attribute Canada’s relative success in matters of multiculturalism and France’s difficulties to generalizations about differing approaches to diversity as there are obviously many more factors at work, but as a visible minority I can definitely attest to the fact that I “feel” much better in Canada, and not simply because I grew up here. On the whole, I prefer Europe and as a French speaking European citizen, I was able to take part in society to a greater degree than an American exchange student might, but the lack of any visible diversity in advertising and media, the lack of non-white politicians, the general lack of celebration of the amazing cultural diversity of an international centre like Paris left me feeling, well, secondary. Comfortable, middle-class, included on a day-to-day basis, but secondary.