France - Europe's powder keg
All it takes is a lightning matchstick

ANALYTICS  29 August 2023 - 09:00

The French authorities intend to ban girls from attending school while being dressed in the Abaya, a traditional Muslim women’s dress that completely covers the body, as stated by the Minister of National Education and Youth Affairs, Gabriel Attal.

It is worth citing the arguments put forward to justify another discriminatory measure against millions of French Muslims. "School is built on solid principles in the republic, such as secularism. Secularism is the freedom to free oneself through school. When you enter the classroom, you should not be able to immediately determine the religion of students just by looking at them", said Attal on air with the TF1 television channel and promised that he would discuss with school authorities next week how to introduce this ban.

This basically means, that the decision has actually already been made, all that remains is to "discuss the details" of its implementation.

All these discriminatory regulations are being implemented by the French government against the backdrop of rising anti-French sentiment in Africa. That is why the Niger has revolted, where mass demonstrations are being held in cities under anti-French slogans. In the capital, Niamey, demonstrators had even attacked the French Embassy the previous day and tried to set it on fire. French guards have wounded several local residents when protecting the diplomatic mission. It should be noted that the Niger is a former French colony and one of the poorest countries in the world, having been receiving around $2 billion in international assistance each year. The country is rich in natural resources, accounting for about 7% of the world’s uranium reserves. Gold, rare earth metals, oil and gas deposits are also being mined there.

How does a country so rich in natural resources live in poverty? The answer is clear - it is the result of France’s colonization of that state. Paris has barbarically exploited the Niger for centuries, bought uranium from it at cheap prices and essentially acting through its protégé, leading the country. Now the whole pyramid has collapsed, and Paris is very worried about the loss of such a source of valuable minerals and, accordingly, multimillion-dollar incomes. The rising Niger has already declared that the country will stop exporting uranium and gold to France, as reported by Mehr News, citing a speech by General Tchiani, who has led a military coup and declared himself the new president. Later, however, the French uranium mining company Orano Group, located in the Niger, reported that it continues to operate at the mining fields in the cities of Arlit and Akokan and that its headquarters in Niamey is open for business.

It is clear, though, that the refusal by the new leadership of the Niger refusal to export uranium to France would be a devastating blow to France’s nuclear industry, as Nigerian uranium provided 40% of the country’s needs for nuclear fuel, with nuclear power making up 70% of the total energy balance there, providing relatively cheap electricity to the local industry. This is why, by the way, some German enterprises have moved to France.

It is worth recalling that President Erdogan of Türkiye gave statements on the situation in the Niger some time ago. Among other things, the Turkish leader said: "Africans remember it very well. This is a response to the oppression to which these countries have been subjected for many years". And this is nothing but the truth. However, the Head of the French state, Macron said earlier this year that he did not consider it necessary to ask for forgiveness from Algeria for the historical period when that country was a French colony. He said this in an interview with Le Point.

According to Macron, one should be looking "ahead" at France's history instead of instead of trying to apologize for such events as the colonization of African countries. He even argued that such statements "could cut all ties". Of course, he was talking about "ties" with African countries, profitable only to France. It is, essentially, a recognition of the neo-colonialism practiced in Paris.

The total discrimination against the Muslim population of France is a direct consequence of this policy. In this country, the number of immigrants officially amounts to 12-15% of the total population. Unofficially, twice as high. How did that happen? It all began when the French started to import the inhabitants of their African colonies into their country as cheap labor starting back in the 17th century. The descendants of these Africans in Europe have, for the most part, been French citizens for a long time, which, however, did not change their religious beliefs. This is why the publication of cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad in French publications has been received with such anger.

Besides this, France decided to attract new African migrants to the country during the economic boom of the 1970s, as it needed cheap labour. In accordance with the law titled "On family reunification", migrants were able to move their families there. Until 1993, if a child of foreign parents was born in France, he obtained its nationality, and thus the children of Africans obtained a French passport. By the way, the fertility rate in the Niger is now at 6.7, meaning almost seven children per woman of childbearing age, and France is now trying to destabilize a country with so many children. It is not difficult to predict, that they will eventually leave the Niger with many of them going to that same France, which is being acknowledged guilty for what happened.

What will they be facing there? First of all, Macron’s more entrenched policy of putting pressure on Muslims. One remembers how Nicolas Sarkozy, now accused of a lot of wrongdoings when he was President of France, strongly opposed wearing the hijab, calling it a "symbol of submission". As a result, a number of laws were passed which French Muslims perceived to be discriminatory. Nevertheless, a law had been adopted in April 2011 imposing a fine of €150 for wearing face-covering clothing.

Moreover, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has upheld the prohibition on wearing the hijab in public places in France, and that, although, according to many lawyers, French law violated the European Convention on Human Rights. It also prevents French Muslim women from living in harmony with themselves in accordance with their religious beliefs.

This is compounded by the growing socio-economic problems of migrants. They openly state that they feel an overtly biased attitude towards them, even when it comes to renting. When landlords see migrants, they prefer to not rent them apartments. The same goes for looking for work. Migrants and their descendants, even those with a French passport, find it more difficult to find employment than the ethnic French.

As you can see, France has been sitting on a powder keg for a long time, and in order for it to explode, one simply needs to set a burning match to it at the right time. It is against this background that the French authorities now intend to ban the Abaya in schools. This is another discriminatory, anti-Muslim step in a country that loves to talk about "freedom, equality and brotherhood", "human rights" and "democracy". Yet the world is observing the opposite: Paris pursues a blatantly cynical policy towards the Muslims of its country, but it brazenly interferes in the affairs of other states, in particular by accusing Azerbaijan of violating these very "human rights" and itself supporting Armenia’s aggressive policy.

Caliber.Az