Isn't he they guy who called the rioters 'scum' and 'vermin' two years ago?
Not that rioting is a Good Thing, but I think a lot of them had understandable grievances.
I know that he called them scum and said that the authorities should use power hoses on them. I saw "base sarkozy" graffiti on the news last night. But still, if Sarkozy manages to reform France's economic mess he will have done more for les banlieues than anyone else. Ironic that they hate him so much.
Hopefully it means he has the necessary backbone. Isn't he the child of immigrants as well?
Hopefully it means he has the necessary backbone. Isn't he the child of immigrants as well?
French politics is unusually fucked. It makes the UK and US look like bastions of an open access democracy. I'm not surprised Sarko won but it's hard to see much cause for optimism.
How is it much worse than U.S. and U.K. politics?
The classic conservative immigrant-made-good, in fact.
It's not quite fair to say "there aren't any Muslim MPs, it must be due to racism", as many Muslims believe it's wrong to take part in secular elections, and even those that don't think this are likely to put off a political career by the hardline views of religious and 'community' leaders. And many black people living in France are likely to be Muslims. Of course, I'm certainly not saying there isn't racism in French politics either, as evidenced by:Virtually all French politicians are drawn from a very, very narrow elite - far worse than here. I also read during the 2005 riots that wasn't one single black or Muslim MP (or whatever the French equivalent is) - if this is correct it's a shocking reflection.
I was unaware of this, though:the double-figures polling for Le Pens election after election
Guess I must have assumed immigrants are generally poor(er than most people they settle among).He was born good.
It'd only be fair if he wanted to create the economic conditions for immigrants to flourish - as opposed to languishing in enforced idleness (and poverty) on state benefits - given that he is himself an immigrant, or the son of immigrant parents at any rate. The classic conservative immigrant-made-good, in fact.
many Muslims believe it's wrong to take part in secular elections
France has many, many more Muslims than the UK.
Doesn't that only apply to the fringe headcases, HuT and so forth? It hasn't stopped Muslims participating in the British system and France has many, many more Muslims than the UK.
Doesn't that only apply to the fringe headcases, HuT and so forth? It hasn't stopped Muslims participating in the British system and France has many, many more Muslims than the UK.