Hollande's rapprochement in north Africa doesn't change
things much for French-Algerians at home
".....Hollande has done very little to address the problems experienced by Algerians living in France, including growing Islamophobia. He refuses to reverse measures like the burqa ban and has highlighted his opposition to halal meat and praying in the street because of a lack of mosques. Anti-discrimination laws are way down his agenda, despite the fact that stigmatisation is likely to increase as the negative social effects of economic austerity polices become more apparent.
Populist rightwing
politicians like Marine Le Pen and
Nicolas Sarkozy, meanwhile, routinely portray alienated migrant communities as
France's "enemy within", imposing their foreign lifestyles on an otherwise
prosperous, forward-thinking modern democracy. Le Pen, who achieved a fifth of
the popular vote in the first round of May's presidential elections, equates
immigration from Algeria with an increased risk of terrorism.
Hollande's well-crafted business-speak and worthy pronouncements in Algeria will do nothing to change any of this. By concentrating on commerce he ignores the underlying disdain that many Algerians still hold for a French establishment that offers them little beyond suspicion and prejudice."
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