Hello Everyone:
It is a toasty Tuesday and Yours Truly is hiding out in her very air conditioned work space. Today we are finishing up are discussion on the French working class suburbs. We are going to look at the perception that these suburbs are "No-Go Zones." The most laughable recent example of a "No-Go Zone" is Birmingham, England predominantly immigrant working class neighborhood. One more time, our guide is Tanvi Misra's 2017 CityLab article "The Othered Paris." Allez (Onward)
"Sense and Probed"
One of the best known reference to "priority neighborhoods," in the American media came during the 2016 election cycle, when Fox News (in)famously called them "No-Go Zones" (theatlantic.com; Jan 20, 2015; date accessed July 24, 2018), "...suggesting that police officers were too scared to enter these areas." The French translation is Zones de non-droites--"no rules apply.
Well, not exactly. In fact the opposite is true: "...the police are a constant presence in many of these areas,..." One way to understand this is to analyze at the architecture of the police station in relationship to the stations in more affluent Parisian neighborhoods. Architect Léopold Lambert inventoried the buildings and plotted them out (thefunambulist.net; Dec. 20, 2016; date accessed July 24, 2018). Ms. Misra writes, "The new ones [the large circles in map below], which disproportionately stances near the cités [red blotches], are cold, fortress-like, windowless, and uninviting; the ones in richer, whiter areas in Central Paris are historic buildings with large windows and welcoming entrances." Mr. Lambert told CityLab,
That says a lot [a] bout the way the police, many by extension the state,more presents itself within those areas,.... as being engaged in some sort of phantasmagoric civil war or something.
However, it is not only how the police are presenting themselves that is different. The difference is also in their approach. Ms. Misra reports, "In the early and mid-2000s, anthropologist Didier Fassin conducted an ethnography [cairn.info; 2011; date accessed July 24, 2018] of priority zones, in which he detailed how police harassed youth, Roma populations, and undocumented migrants to make daily quotas." In 2012 Le Monde op-ed on the conduct of the powerful national police branch Anti-Criminality Brigade (BAC). CityLab published a a translated excerpt from the editorial on the "priority neighborhoods" where the deploy,
Contrary to the popular notion that the banlieues, and notably the cités, are supposedly destroyed from the inside by crime and delinquency, the statistics of the Interior Ministry reveal a less somber situation. Most of the serious crimes have been declining for decades, and their incidence in the sensitive urban zones isn't higher than in the surrounding urban areas. (lemonde.fr; Oct. 12, 2012; date accessed July 24, 2018)
It is a very well known fact that the French police disproportionately target minorities. Ms. Misra reports, "A 2012 Human Rights Watch report [hrw.org; date accessed July 24, 2018] found that black and brown residents--even if they were as young as 14--were more likely to be stopped, frisked, and often verbally and physically abused." In 2016, the French high court also found (apnews.com; Nov. 9, 2016; date accessed July 24, 2018) that the police illegally profiled young men of color. However, in the priority zone, the police presence continues to grow. In 2012, interior minister Manuel Valls disclosed "security priority zones" (leparisien.fr; Aug. 4, 2012; date accessed July 24, 2018) for targeted policing operations. In accordance with a 2016 government report (onpv.fr; date accessed July 24, 2018), "77 out of 80 of these zones are in priority neighborhoods."
Tanvi Misra sat down with Henry Shah, a researcher who studies slum populations in and around Paris, at a café in Sarcelles-- a banlieue sometimes called "Little Jerusalem" because its large Jewish population. Mr. Shah explained the language of the priority zone label: Sensible doesn't mean 'sensitive,' it means an area that needs to be sensed or probed. He pointed out a "parallel here,..., between the rhetoric employed by the Sarkozy government in 2010when it designated the clearance of Roma slum [spiegel.de; Sept. 15, 2010; date accessed July 24, 2018] a priority." Mr. Shah said,
The fact of an area being a 'priority' for the government is tied into controlling public space and controlling populations deemed risky.
The Minstry of Interior, which oversees the national police, did not respond to CityLab's request for comment. However the spokesperson for Colombe Brossel, the deputy mayor of security, prevention, popular areas, and integration, emailed CityLab, although the deputy mayor "agrees with the previous government's designation of priority security zones, she believed more work needs to be done in improving relations between the police and communities." This includes better communications regarding police actions, improved police identification, making identity check fairer and more effective.
Former President François Hollande promised to implement a system of accountability "in which officers gave out receipts each time they stopped someone, but that didn't end up happening [washingtonpost.com Feb. 16, 2016; date accessed July 24, 2018]." Just the opposite, following the 2015 terrorist attacks, President Hollande declared an emergency (diplomatie.gouv.fr; date accessed July 24, 2018) that extended law enforcement powers. Tanvi Misra points out, "It lasted longer than the one called during the Algerian War--finally ending on [newindianexpress.com; Oct. 31, 2017; date accessed July 24, 2018] October 30, 2017." Replacing it is an all encompassing anti-terrorist law, codifying some of the enhanced police powers. Human rights organizations are concerned (theatlantic.com; July 11, 2017; date accessed July 24, 2018) that this will further stigmatize France's Muslim population.
One change that politicians are particularly proud of (liberation.fr; June 20, 2008; date accessed July 24, 2018) as a politique de la ville success story is a group of nice buildings put up in the suburbs. "Since 2003, a bulk of the funding had been allocated toward these urban renewal projects. The idea is that replacing the run-down public housing complexes with more open, new buildings will attract a mixed income population to these areas and allow for more 'eyes on the street.'" [metropolitiques.eu; Feb. 12, 2016; date accessed July 24, 2018]
Tanvi Misra spoke with a resident of Aulnay-sous-Bois who expressed skepticism about these projects. Rightly, many are concerned that the new new housing projects, like the transit expansion (theatlantic.com; Mar. 2016; date accessed July 24, 2018) would increase real estate prices and cause further displacement. Another concern is these "face lifts" (nytimes.com; date accessed July 24, 2018) are cosmetic, not tangible investments in the banlieues. Chayma Drira said, They are changing the physical space, but not creating social links. Ms. Drira grandmother's building in La Courneuve is set for demolition this year.
Thomas Kirszbaum posits, what if the politique de la ville never existed?
The situation would be much worse,... That would be the common sense evaluation.
The big "but" in this line of thought: "politique de la ville doesn't seem to have made the situation all that much better." The Banlieue residents believe their situation has not changed over the past decade (the guardian.com; Oct. 22, 2015; date accessed July 24, 2018).
The $64 million question, "what's the solution?" Naima M'Faddel, a civic official from Dreux, suggests completely doing away with these designations (lexpress.fr; June 4, 2017; date accessed July 24, 2018). In a 2016 with L'Express, she said, It has resulted in too many perverse effects (Ibid). Patrick Simon, a researcher at INED, believes that politique de la ville "needs to refocus on its original intent--to help people gain access to opportunities, rather than to simply alter the physical attributes of the space live in." Mr Kirszbaum, a sociologist, also stressed the importance of empowering the communities and paying attention to conversations taking place (bindyblog.fr; date accessed July 24, 2018). Out these recommendations, a theme emerges: "any workable solution needs to address people, not just the place. And if officials are making policy decisions without listening to what the banlieue residents want and need, then, there is litt,e chance they are going to succeed in tailoring their solutions."
Recently, President Emanuel Macron announced a "new approach"(lemonde.fr; Nov. 13, 2017; date accessed July 24, 2018) to politique de la ville, which included doubling funds for urban renewal programs. Ms. Driria is not impressed by President Macron's promises. She said, "If the French government were really sincere about helping, it would acknowledge it own role in creating the banlieue; take responsibility for [arteeast.org; Fall 2017; date accessed July 24, 2018] colonialism and slavery and understand how the legacies of these action persist in the way these urban spaces are policed today." Although Paris recently expanded its physical boundaries (citylab.com; July 29, 2013; date accessed July 24, 2018) to incorporate many of the suburban jurisdictions, Ms. Drira said that the "city has yet to fold the residents of these spaces into its imagined community [en.m.wikipedia.org; date accessed July 24, 2018]--into France's idea of itself." It needs to acknowledge the banlieues are the other, they are othered by the state. She said,
They keep blaming the problems [of these neighborhoods] on us,... and yet, it's they who are not making an effort.
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