Racism in France?

this is a BW who lives in France and is telling us that France has its problems.

i need the 411. Is it true?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2G1iDbfV_w

or is it the way she experienced France from her perspective?

 

The Abduction of Europa - Rembrandt

 

qua?

 

From what I've read racism is definitely a problem in France. It's hard to measure though because the French government does not keep track of things like income, employment, educational achievements, etc based on race the way they do in the States. Everyone is simply considered "French". Despite this fact racism against blacks and Muslims in France sound pretty rampant.

France has basically taken a naive (in my opinion) approach to race. The same type you hear many people in the States saying. Where you basically "ignore race" and "just look at class" or "don't classify people". In other words ignoring a serious problem and expecting it to just magically go away over time. It's pretty much the laziest and least hands on approach to tackling racism, which is probably why it's the most popular.

Anyway this is coming from someone who has never been to France let alone lived there and have only read about it. So take my opinion for what you feel it's worth.

 

For me this is the starting point to deal with racism, i mean, ignore race is the right thing to one Government do.

this is what democracy is about, no matter what is your background '' we are all french ''

racism is a social issue no an governamental issue

 

True,France has its negatives but also its positives. Black-Americans are treated fairly in France and gave more opportunities to them for more than two centuries. The conservatives in this country however would use the French formula on not recognizing race which is wrong because America is not like France. I do remember reading on the reason Chester Himes moved from France to Spain is because of some racism in France. On the other hand James Baldwin stayed in France until he died as well as Nina Simone. It is complicated about what the French does in that country. I admit that the French soccer team imploded during the World Cup last July is because some like the coach and the other higher up had resumed to the ways of LePen and his ilk by saying the team is not French.

 

France

I'm a French black man, born in France, and I can say that racism is horrible there. French = Whites for the majority. If you're not White, you're not French, most people think that but are hypocrites with it.

If you're Black or Arab, you are definitely looked upon as a dangerous thug. French hate Muslims too.

But if you are an Afro-American tourist, you may have a great time (we love Americans), but I wouldn't recommand you to live there.
Though, black men are popular right now with younger white women (18-25), like in the UK. This is the only good side.

The majority of young French Blacks and Arabs just dream to get the hell outta France because of racism, very sad (for my part, I already left and I don't wanna go back...ever).

 

I'm a Black-American and the brothers I saw with WW in France are from the Caribbean. I think the French women just love the young brothers from the States and the UK. As for Arabs I have no concern since they did not care about Blacks before 9-11. I remember in the States those Arabs did not care about Blacks who have Muslim names. Anyway,France is all good because of this long history of their treatment of Black-Americans that dates back for more than 100 years.

 

I agree...I don't know why he mentioned Blacks and Arabs..being that they are more racist than Southern rednecks.

 

I wonder what his opinion of the rulers and dignitaries of Francophone African states and the French treatment of them?

 

Well this is good to know. thanks for the contributions.

i'm looking at european countries and i'm trying to decide which one, i want to ultimately live in one day. France is now at the bottom of the list.

but its really good to know these things!

France is now just a place to VISIT. thanks for the info.. i like the languagae and i will always like French movies as well.

i like alot of their actresses (Irene Jacob, fanny ardant, marina hands, Catherine Devenue) and i pan to make an effort to learn french as well as other languages. but i won't be living in France.

thank you.

i'm trying to talk to this woman who made the clips but she won't send me any responses.

i look at alot of French Movies and i am fascinated with the lanague too. when i saw this woman on youtube.com saying these things, i said WOW.

and i really wanted to know more about the country and about racial tension there.

 

Germany is probably your best bet. All things considered.

 

thanks bro. i appreciate the information. i really do. how about sweden?

 

I'd say England is your best bet. I've visited pretty much every country in Europe and this is where there's the highest population of black men. Nobody bats an eyelid here.

 

I accept the fact that racism is part of life. there is no real escape from it.
I'm not gonna boycott france now. but i will however try to understand where it is and be honest with myself.

so that's Germany as # 1

1.Germany
2.UK-England

any others?

how about Sweden?

i'm actually trying to aim at a country where English is NOT the primary language. I have a strong desire to leave english speaking world and exist in another culture for a few yrs just to see what its like.

 

When I went to Sweden, I didn't see many (any) black people. But that doesn't necessarily mean that they're racist. You're better off waiting for one of the Swedes on the forum to respond to this...
I'm curious, do you speak any foreign languages? Unless you speak the language of the country you want to go to, you'll struggle, regardless of race.

To be honest, I've been to France four times. I've dated a French black guy. No complaints from him, so I wouldn't rule France out, especially if you're just visiting. I think their main problems with black people are with African immigrants, not tourists or even black people who were born in France.

 

thank you. right now its just talk. i will be ready language-wise before i go. but i really wanted to indentify which country/language i would feel most comfortable in.

since i look at lots of french movies and heard LOTS good things about france and how American BM are treated, i thought France should be # 1. but then i heard this

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_b_sGHNilI4

i thought, oh no, maybe not!

right now i'm pretty much at the beginner level of French & Spanish. But within the next year or so i hope to be juggling
with German, French, Spanish, Italian and the language that they speak in Sweden.


this big move won't happen for a few years actually. i'm 28. But by the time i'm 36 i should have atleast 4 down pretty well.

thanks for the info. it nice to hear it from someone who is there!

 

That YouTube video is by the same woman who did several other videos about France. That is just her opinion. Sweden and the UK are good. Make sure however you have hookups or relatives in those countries.

 

The language they speak in Sweden would be Swedish.
There are black people in the 2-3 biggest cities. Not a lot, but not uncommon either. Even 30 years ago. If you venture out of that, you most certainly will become a novelty. I would say that for the most part, Swedes are open and not racist... I don't say racism don't exist, of course it does - but its not generally a racist and un-welcoming society.
If you are an American, youll be just fine - Americans are as far as I remember very welcomed. You are not an Afro-American over there, you are an American.
I left in 94 so the other 2 Swedes on here should be able to give you a better view than me.

 

thank you. this is giving me more motivation/energy to make this happen. good to hear this from the source.

its just that i usually try to look at the movies for a foreign country first. right now i look at lots of french movies. and i like their actresses over there a great deal. but i like the stories too.

and when i saw the lady in the youtube clips talking about racism in France it caught me off guard / even scared me alittle.

and now what confuses me even more is hearing conflictin things about France.

so here are the countries.

1.Germany
2.Sweden
3.UK
4.France

How about Italy? anyone know about italy?