Cars on fire, repeated mortar fire, ransacked stores… France has been shaken by violent riots in recent days. Violent events that erupted after the death of Nahel, 17, killed by a police officer after refusing to comply during a traffic check. Faced with images of cities on fire, and sometimes perfectly organized rioters, the government does not want to fall into confusion and refuses to draw a link between riots and immigration. But on the right side of the political spectrum, the report drawn up is fundamentally different from that of the executive.
“You have to be wary of the Stade de France syndrome, that is to say not to look the truth in the face. It is not a question of amalgamating everything. There are surely Kevins and Matteos”, among the rioters, judge this Thursday morning at the microphone of Europe 1, the President of the Senate, Gérard Larcher.
“Rebuilding Trust”
“But ask the mayor of L’Haÿ-les-Roses (whose home was attacked with a ram-car last weekend, editor’s note). In his town, more than 40% of its population has a link with immigration. So we have to look at things in the face, tell the truth”, judges the president of the upper house of Parliament.
“Politicians must not say anything other than what the French see. If we want to reconnect with trust, it is not a question of nourishing I don’t know what amalgam or I don’t know what hatred. Let’s look at things in face,” he insists.
Too much money invested in urban planning?
But, then should we create a new suburban plan to try to improve? For several years, the State has invested heavily in neighborhoods, focusing in particular on the renovation or destruction of HLM bars. “I was with Jean-Louis Borloo when we set up the National Urban Renewal Agency. The suburban plan was useful. Go see a certain number of municipalities, it has changed its face. The subject, c is that without a doubt, we have been too concerned about the stones and the walls and not enough about the men and women who live there, to accompany them on this path towards the Republic”, judges Gérard Larcher.
The latter now advocates emphasizing education to allow children to feel “belonging to the national community”.