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Frenchman Antoine Griezmann points the two stars of his jersey, scoring two World Cup victories, with Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappé after the last match between France and Croatia at the 2018 World Cup in Moscow on July 15th. won 4-2. (Matthias Schrader / AP)
In an era of growing nationalism and fortified borders, the success of the 2018 World Cup in France has created a more optimistic account of the value of immigration. His star player, Kylian Mbappé, 19, and so many other players from the national team, including Paul Pogba, Blaise Matuidi, Ousmane Dembele and Adil Rami, are children of African immigrants. (Only two players were born outside France – Steve Mandanda in what was then Zaire and Samuel Umtiti in Cameroon – but both went to France at the age of 2 years.)
Yet the victory of France "Illustrates in fact the racism that plagues the French society.The victory of the Bleus was not a victory of the immigrant players, it was a victory of the players French . The status of citizens of these French actors makes them "marginal citizens", always marginalized by society because of their ethnic origin.
Such an immigrant-winner narrative exists because people of color are often considered as immigrants or foreigners rather than citizens or members of the French Republic.It is taboo to mention race and ethnicity in France (and, very recently, the word "race" was removed from the French Constitution .)
Why? Even before the French Revolution, France was built in civic rather than ethnic terms. French is supposed to replace all other identifications, whether they are linguistic or regional or other. And these ideals are now threatened by the dark days of the Vichy regime during the Second World War, as the race became dangerously conflictual. Using racial categories, Jews in France and the French colonies in the Maghreb were collected and deported to concentration camps in Germany and Poland. This has created an ugly badociation with the use of sub-national categories that France does not want to revisit.
This obsession with national identity and the fear of division deny distinctions of race or ethnicity. France does not even measure race and ethnicity on its census. As a result, there are no "official" statistics for the non-white population of France. In fact, many in France denounce American identity politics, seeing in this recognition of racial and ethnic differences a "balkanizing" society rather than unifying it. Thus, there is no equivalent label "African American" or "Asian American" in France.
The problem is that this ideal has not erased the racism of France, and, in fact, worsens its ills because there is no language to seize it. Visible minorities, a term often used for people of color in France, are denied recognition as French. They can be born and raised in France, attend French schools and yet, like many players of the Blues, they are considered as immigrants or as foreigners, not as French.
This is not a celebration of inclusivity, is a restriction of their membership in France. Beginning in the early 1900s and accelerating dramatically after the First World War, France hosted many migrants from its former colonies. These migrants came from African countries such as Algeria and Senegal as well as from overseas departments such as Guadeloupe or Martinique.
But unlike the United States, which claims its history of immigration as part of its national policy. ethos, France does not do it. For example, immigrants from the former Maghreb colonies to metropolitan France were supposed to be only workers, not to settle permanently, to have children and to integrate into French society. Debates on the restriction of immigration and nationality laws have only increased in recent administrations, as many see migration as a threat to French identity.
The labeling of non-whites as immigrants thus allows racism to fester. This has serious ramifications for minorities. For example, Hafid, a 40-year-old executive born to Algerian parents outside of Paris, whom I interviewed for my research, hates the term "immigration issues" because it involves he comes from another culture. "We are as French as anyone," he says. Yet, Hafid and the others are not treated this way. They are still identified as migrants, even if they were born in France. Far-right politicians and others asked them to join French society, as they did not automatically belong to it.
Moments like victory at the World Cup are still used to deny the existence of racism in France unity. But racial and ethnic minorities in France – regardless of clbad or professional success – are today faced with real challenges, whether it be constant police or police checks, or any other kind of challenge. other groups that disproportionately target racial and ethnic minorities.
Even in the celebrations of the victory of July 15, the prefecture limited the public transport lines of the suburbs in Paris. And about a week before the victory, Aboubakar Fofana, a 22-year-old black man, was killed by a policeman in Nantes in central France, which led to demonstrations and riots.
So, yes, let's enjoy World Cup Victory But consider it a victory for French players, people who are part of French society, even if they are constantly considered as outside of it.
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