French National Assembly votes on burqa ban tomorrow... and no one in France, not even the Muslims, care. This is a very media- and US-driven controversy.
I think it's not just the US, I've been reading about it in a lot of the international press. It's a landmark issue in a lot of ways, raises a lot of interesting ethical/legal questions being faced in a lot of countries, so I think a lot of people are interested in how things play out even if not that many people will really be affected.
Why do you think people are so disinterested here?
Christopher Hook
Well for one, people generally agree with the ban... they see it as in-line with French values, and don't see it as enough of a stain on liberty to really get riled up about it. The French are very rational... I think I heard Sarkozy use that word like six times during his interview on TV last night. And with only 2000 people using the "voile intégrale;" its not such a big deal with the other things going on, including unemployment, government scandals, reform of retirement, economic crisis, you know. The veil isnt really getting a lot of coverage these days.. very little in the major papers is being reported about the bill and the debate on it.... so obviously in the way that the media tells people what to care about...
It is a landmark issue for democracy, but I think for politicians here, its a way for them to have a discussion of the fundamentals of the state... when youre arguing for raising the retirement age, youre making no friends from the citizenry... but when you're arguing to preserve the core values of the state, talking about the Révolution and égalité, liberté, fraternité... you're definitely getting points. Not to mention who in the socialist or any other party wants to vote against a bill that is framed like the very survival of the french nation is at stake... thats why the socialists are refusing to vote at all I think...
Trip Hook
Yep, I've noticed that as well (the veil not getting much coverage). I must say I am impressed with the restraint people are showing - I feel like a symbolic law like this would cause a lot of bitter debate in the US. I was surprised that you identified it as a "US-driven controversy" since it is such an interesting issue that, as you put it, is essentially a proxy vote for the "very survival of the French nation".
Christopher Hook
Yeah, that may have been bad-wording on my part... I think what I meant was that a lot of attention has been given to it in US media... the NYT for example ran an article yesterday on the philosophy behind the ban... and they love to dote on the controversy surrounding it... one article I read said that an 'outcry' has gone up among the population... that may have been true when it was initially proposed, but now 83% of people support the ban... whoopdedoo. I think we in America love to jump on the bandwagon when liberty is being taken away, we love to think of ourselves as the saviors of the world's stricken. But the French have more important things to worry about right now I think...
Trip Hook
Yeah, 'outcry' sounds a little sensationalized. Realistically we all have bigger things to worry about. I feel like things like this tend to be weightier in the US because we're so fiercely wedded to precedent and symbolism, something about our country that I both admire (steadfast commitment to freedom of religious expression) and loathe (steadfast commitment to bringing handguns to work). It seems to me like the French pursue whatever policy makes sense without so much intensive focus on the 'big picture'.
Christopher Hook
Yeah, I agree with that whole post. It's a pragmatism... and what I like the most is that both sides try to use rational arguments to disprove the other, something I'm sure they're very proud of as decendants of Descartes and whatnot. I guess I would call it a respect for the other's opinions but most imporantly a regard for the country's future... sometimes worrying so much about your historical legacy can be a very good thing. I think back in disgust to last summer and the anti-healthcare rallies, with politicians saying anything they could just to attract the attention and the love of the Tea Partiers... there was no pragmatism there, no sense of country first...
Trip Hook
Yep, the health care debate was an example of the dark side of our 'big picture' thinking. For my part though, I would be fiercely opposed to a law like this in the US for largely the same reasons: the Tea Partiers see health care reform (fallaciously IMO) as a dangerous precedent for government control, whereas I would see a burqua ban as a dangerous precedent for limiting freedom of religious expression. I just wouldn't resort to their tactics...
Christopher Hook
Yeah, agreed. I was really frustrated last summer because I felt like, and fairly I think, everyone involved in healthcare was lying about it. It has really made me disillusioned about listening to politicians speak. Maybe that's why it's been such a breath of fresh air to follow French politics and not American for the last week and a half... politicians here are unafraid to say what they think (without worry that Keith Olbermann or Beck is gonna pounce on every word) and have enough respect for themselves and for the system that they are encouraged to be rather frank and unconcealed. Tea Partiers would argue that they have respect for the system... I see it as misguided.
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