France: Class and “race” hate, riots and the americanisation of the social crisis.

By Dimitris Scarpalezos

One first “americanisation” step was taken in France with the creation of “ghettos ” of essentially foreign workers (whose majority and their families are now French citizens) already at the beginning of reindustrialisation after world war.

As in most countries the deindustrialization hit essentially those ghettos  where of course ;most young people could not hope to find jobs in the financialized brave new world.

This new situation promoted an underground criminal economy around drugs and favored an “Americanisation” of behaviors in both the police and the youth of those suburbs (also contributing was the decline of the communist and trade union activity there).

The culture of “sherifs for law and order” with racist suspicion against all youths of the “ghettos” has become prevalent in large parts of the French police who have a tendency to behave  exactly as their US colleagues in the suburbs with strong non – Wasp majority. In June two young boys were killed by policemen .The first of them , Alhoussein ,a young refugee from Africa was killed in his car while going to work, but as he was alone without anybody of his family in France his death remained unnoticed and did not provoke any riot ,but the second murder,  the one of a   boy, Nahel M, seventeen years old shot by police was filmed in a video which circulated  in social media and  for three days ;most “ghetto”suburbs in France exploded in riots essentially with very young rioters even thirteen years old.

The extreme nationalist right (Lepen, etc) and the new globalist “extreme center” both blamed the lack of hard measures against young rioters (and essentially against the “dangerous classes”) and will push to a greater control of the society by violent oppressive measures in the name of “law and order”.

The left of Nupes, the France Insoumise of Melanchon and the Communist Party asked for important changes in police culture and rullings to prevent such situations and a new strategy of promotion of economic and social situation int the “ghetto’suburbs where the ultraneoliberal policy of most governments destroyed most social services.

After the fight against the new law for pensions a new aspect of class struggle similar to “black lives matter” came to show the violence of class struggle in france.

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