A week back or so, a French parlimentary panel issued a scathing report calling for a ban of the Burqua, the head-to-toe garb worn by many Muslim women. This came on the heels of a ban of headscarves in schools (actually all religious clothing, but most thought it was aimed at the headscarf), which most people outside of France deemed an attack on Muslim values by the French government.
Interestingly, France is known around Europe for having one of the more open immigration policies in the EU, and in fact, it has more immigrants than your average EU member. This is especially true of Muslim immigrants. There is somewhere on the order of 4-5 million Muslims in France, largely from North African origins, the majority of whom are black.
Now this is just one foreigner's opinion, but I think you could say that France is also known for being one of the more racist countries in the EU, as the riots of 2005 attest to.
Coming from a country with an atrocious racial history of its own, and being a white male, I've always been pretty cognizant of how issues of race can make some topics at best awkward (like race and how it relates to sports) and some topics downright doused in fuel (affirmative action).
In the States, everyone generally tiptoes around this stuff.
In France, for better or worse, they don't. Racial tensions are handled with a far less delicate touch here.
To play this diplomatically, I will say that I'm not entirely sure where I fall on all this headscarf/burqua broohaha. The French argument is twofold - First, they say that in order to immigrate to France and gain French citizenship you need to embrace French values. In other words you can come, but leave your culture at home. This seems at least reasonable to me, but vastly different from the States, where we tell immigrants to come as you are and we'll just blend it all together. We are the "melting pot" after all. Secondly, the French argue that the burqua lends itself to the oppression of women, and that, they claim is also not in sync with French values. I also can get behind this.
On the other hand, freedom of religion strikes me as an imperative in any society.
But what has been most fascinating to me as a foreigner, is not so much the issue itself, but the different manner in how it's handled here. The French are so brusque in their assessment of Muslim culture, and their objections to the burqua are loud and impassioned.
In America, where we tend to be loathe to offend, I just think it would be so much more delicately handled. More awkwardly also. I'm not saying one approach is better or worse, but boy is it different.
So the next time your in Paris and your French waiter gives you the silent treatment for some unintended and unknown assault on his culture, just be happy you weren't wearing a burqua and know that brusqueness is their way - they can't help it.
