MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 04th July, 2023) The Muslim population's unwillingness to integrate in France, communitarianism, the abandonment of the suburbs by the government are all important factors causing the current unrest in the country, Francois Asselineau, a political expert and the head of French Eurosceptic party Popular Republican Union, told Sputnik.
France has been gripped by unrest since June 27, when a 17-year-old boy was shot dead by a police officer for failing to stop his car when ordered to do so in Nanterre, a suburb of Paris. The officer who pulled the trigger on Nahel M. has been taken into custody for voluntary manslaughter, but that has not deterred the protesters.
The French Interior Ministry has reported hundreds of daily detentions, as well as injuries among police officers as protests have escalated into rioting and looting. Authorities in some parts of France have had to impose partial curfews and limitations on public transport to prevent further escalation.
"What we go through (in France) is not a revolution with specific goals, but an immense 'jacquerie,' a new form of 'peasant revolt' among young people from the suburbs, a barbaric explosion of 'fun' ... There is very clearly a problem of immigration and of withdrawal among themselves, of mainly the Muslim populations, who refuse to integrate," Asselineau said, noting that the weakness of the French state apparatus only accentuates the feeling of impunity among protesters.
The situation in France is permanently explosive and a small incident could spark waves of violent protests, the politician explained. He stated that communitarianism in France, which makes communities live side by side, ends up with "people hating each other" so the government should "firmly" impose the integration of migrants and the deportation of foreign offenders, and have zero tolerance for urban violence.
Asselineau, who is also a former French presidential candidate, expressed his concerns over the upcoming 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, since the risk of violence on the streets will remain high. He went on to say that riots during the international event would be a "disaster" for France's image in the world.
"I am very worried about the Olympic Games which are to be held in Paris at the end of July 2024, a year from now. Paris is a powder keg and we could live a real drama ... Paris will be a city under siege next summer to try to maintain a serene climate during the Olympic Games. Incidents or riots, always possible, would be a disaster for the image of France, already very tarnished by what is happening at the moment," the expert argued.
The politician also said that the actions by the French authorities, including President Emmanuel Macron's "meekly" calling for cessation of violence, show their fear of the current situation.
"The rioters are not on the street to protest, but simply for the pleasure of destroying and looting all shops, shopping malls, garages and supermarkets. The police are completely overwhelmed and hundreds of small entrepreneurs and shopkeepers are simply ruined. The rioters are very young; Interior Minister (Gerald) Darmanin spoke of people aged 12 or 13, abandoned to themselves by their families, who no longer attend school and who are above all recruited by 'druglords,'" Asselineau explained further.
France appears to be in a civil war, and it is damaging for Macron, "who loves to give lessons to the whole planet," the expert concluded.
