13.27.a - La France: living with violence & racism?

Monitor the media, avoid protests, & check the latest advice with operators and follow the advice of the authorities - and have a wonderful holiday in France - note the further reading provided...

Today at a Glance: paid subscriber newsletter

1. La France: living with violence & racism - Hear from 5 locals - Should I cancel?
2. Check in on the updated #FranceStack™ - A rich Francophile reading resource
3. Judy’s Missive 13.27 - Found on Notes - [year 13 week 27]
4. Merci mille fois - 8.7.23

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The remainder of this newsletter is for paid subscribers. If you enjoy reading consider taking a paid subscription to support my work. Merci ! Judy - 8.7.23
PS: if you’re not sure what Substack is here is a good explanation.
PPS: TIP - all RED text contains a link for further reading or reference and all UNDERLINED black text is also a link.

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1. La France: living with violence & racism?

It’s obvious that France has a serious problem. More than a week of serious social unrest, specifically rioting, was sparked off last Tuesday by the unfortunate murder of 17-year-old Nahel M, a boy of North African descent living in Nanterre, a suburb west of Paris.

The biggest question on many people’s minds is what’s happening on the ground and should I cancel my trip to France right now? See below where 5 locals give their views!

The crumbling utopian dream of Nanterre's towers, was where France's riots began. Before the tragedy, there was the utopia. Built in the 1970s, the Pablo-Picasso social housing estate known as the unique Nuages towers (also known as the Aillaud towers), with their varied and unusual window shapes (round, square, teardrop), arranged irregularly to avoid a grid pattern, were constructed between 1973 and 1982. Designed by architect Emile Aillaud (1902-1988), then popular and highly esteemed by modernist President Georges Pompidou, they stand out from the production of functionalist housing that characterized the post-war reconstruction period. “ wrote Véronique Chocron of le Monde.

As described by Australian, Paris-based author John Baxter:

”Nanterre, the location of the current unpleasantness, is on the other side of Paris. It's dominated by the high-rise apartment buildings known as HLMs -  habitations à loyer modéré (low rent residences),  to live in which is probably as dispiriting an experience as it was to the residents of New York's Bedford-Stuyvesant. Similar extreme reactions are to be expected.”

The current riots have created enormous angst and caused huge financial, physical, and human damage. I, and many of you, have been inundated by questions from people with imminent travel plans:

What’s happening in Paris/Lyon/ Marseille/Lille etc, is it safe, should I cancel?”

I’ve been in France and specifically in Paris at the time of the Charlie Hebdo attack and other times when fear was visible, so much so that you could feel it in the air - but it was localised and if you exercised caution you could go about your holiday with little or no impact.

I understand the concern of those coming to France when there is such unrest, it’s only natural. To many locals, that should-I-travel concern feels like unbridled hysteria. To those involved in the riots, they feel they must speak out, they must make themselves heard, no matter the damage!

Getting the local perspective: should I cancel my trip?

Scenes of cars being smashed rolled over, and set on fire - we’ve seen it before - but this seemed worse. Transportation and other public services have needed to be stopped to prevent excessive danger for state employees.

It’s not always easy to get to the core of an issue & to understand what’s going on from watching the news.

So you’ll find perspectives from 5 locals who’re either French or have lived in France for decades. They understand the deep issues. And don’t miss the list for further reading.