un californien à paris

le tour de la ville

Let's take a tour of the city together.  Hop on my bike. 

(Thanks Doug)

far away, so close

We live just minutes from where the riots broke out, but we, like you, watched them on TV.   Video images of burning suburban neighborhoods may give you the impression of being close to the heat.  They give us a feeling of being far away ... disconnected.  This is part of the problem.  Much of France feels disconnected from the problems in these "cités" and the people who live in them.   This may or may not be an indicator for you, but  from my point of view, the 1992 riots in Los Angeles (where I lived at the time) had a much harder edge to them than what we are experiencing now in France...but the problems of social/economic exclusion and a growing underclass are similar. 

Thank you for all of the phone calls and concerned e-mails.  We are all fine.  May this "closeness" that you might feel to this place on our little planet lead you to pray for the very complicated tensions that make up France's social fabric.

This is where I would point you if you want to better understand our troubles.  Two of the better English language attempts to explain the violence are an article in this week's Time Magazine and another in the New York Times .  Here's an interesting point of view from a French rapper.  I couldn't find one in English, but here's a really good interactive map.  Click on the Paris region and you'll notice Chelles on the Eastern edge.  Todd Burke has some interesting thoughts on personal responsibility and corporate/historic sin.  I'll continue to add relevant links here as I come across items of interest.

More articles that do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the author of this blog :

French 'Troubles' Reach Tourist Mecca  (Time)

France: The Ire and the Fire (Christianity Today)

Trouble in France (Urbana.org)

LA riots 2 ?  (LA Times)

French Democracy

Immigrants' Dreams (New York Times)