#028

L’ISLAM EN FRANCE VU PAR LES RUSSES
Le Figaro TV, 27.01.2015

Your country may have a different image then the one you have once you go abroad. We felt this strongly after the attack on Charlie Hebdo. I watched, half laughing, half annoyed, Fox News reporting on Islam in France. Frankly, when the journalist said that Paris made him think of Iraq or Afghanistan, I did not know what to think, especially when I saw the map of Paris supposedly representing “no-go zones” in the French capital. So, what you say is that Poissonnière is a Muslim neighborhood? You do no need much research (if you know a little about Europe) to realize that in our cities, downtown neighborhoods are becoming more and more expensive, meaning that poor people are being dragged out of Paris intra muros, and live in suburbs (les banlieues, as he says). But again, les banlieues also comprised really rich suburbs, like Neuilly, where you would rarely see a not white person. It is also true that in some neighborhoods, the police and firemen are not welcomed. And it was the case during 2005 riots (the images they use are from 2005, not from 2015!). Anyway, to say, Fox News’s journalist eventually had to apologize, after French people sent complains about this really badly done report.

But now, there is much funnier. Russian TV is also reporting on France, Islam and terrorism. For some reason, they try to make Russian people believe that France has been overtaken by Muslim people and that Paris is becoming a huge Muslim community. Hey guys, are you really journalists? I’m not sure about that… I understand that showing big figures is always better and helps selling information. But here, it is not even playing on real figures and making them say what you want to, it’s simply lying. And that is… meh…

France is welcoming a great number of Muslim people. It is not a reason to fear them. In many neighborhoods, people cohabit peacefully. France has a long colonial history (not that we should be proud of it, but…) which created special links with certain Muslim countries. Some other countries do not have such a past. For Russia, is more about stepping on (or being friend with, I don’t know how to say that) Slavic neighbors. A chacun son truc. I am getting sick of this discourse trying to make people fear Islam. If some Muslim people are extremists, it is also the case with Christian people or Jewish people. I think it is really time to stop stigmatizing one population because of a few crazy bastards. Let’s be smarter than that.

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Listening to: Davichi – 또 운다 또 (Cry Again)