Suburban Riots a Recurring Feature of French Life

The Parisian suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois, wracked by days of clashes between Muslim immigrants and police, is far from unique. One of many such suburbs created by an influx of Arab and African immigrants in the 1960s and 1970s, the town suffers from the same social tensions simmering beneath the surface across France. France's Muslim immigrants live in low-income, high-crime slums from which they have little hope of escaping: widespread discrimination in housing, education, and employment keeps them confined to ghettos like those that have seen rioting in the past week. Paris has tried and failed to eliminate these ghettos; French politicians are now more interested in using the nation's minorities to advance their personal agendas with the rest of the French electorate. Cut off from mainstream society, the Muslims of Clichy-sous-Bois are now joining in one of the proudest traditions of their adopted country: violent protest. – YaleGlobal