2007年VOA标准英语-Survey: Blacks in France Say They Face Racial D

By Lisa Bryant
Paris
05 February 2007

More than half of blacks living in France say they face racial discrimination, according to the first-ever survey on the country's black population. The findings are troubling for a country that has long prided itself on its human rights record, and its ostensibly color-blind integration¹ model. Lisa Bryant has more for VOA from Paris.

According to a survey conducted by the TNS-Sofres polling agency, 61 percent of blacks living in France say they have experienced at least one racist² incident within the past year.

More than one in 10 of the 13,000 respondents said they were frequently the target of racism³ that ranged from verbal aggression⁴ to difficulty finding housing or jobs.

Patrick Lozes

The French advocacy group The Representative Council of Black Associations commissioned the survey. Its president, Patrick Lozes, says these are troubling statistics.

Lozes predicts the poll will change things in France. Until now, he says, blacks have never been counted. And a population that is not counted, does not count.

Blacks are not counted because census⁵ and other official surveys are barred from compiling statistics based on religion or race. But some experts estimate there are about five million blacks living in France.

The head of the Movement Against Racism and for Friendship Between Peoples, Mouloud Aounit, says he is not surprised by the survey's findings.

Aounit says racism exits in French daily life. Look at the Senate, the National Assembly, regional councils, he says. Ethnic⁶ representation is totally absent.

France has long argued all of its citizens are equal under its revolutionary creed⁷ of liberty, equality and fraternity. For this reason, the government - and many French - are against affirmative action policies favoring minorities.

But many of the poorest French - including many ethnic Africans and Arabs - remain locked in aging housing projects and other run-down dwellings⁸. Advocacy groups say they rarely enjoy the same educational and employment opportunities as white French.

Only 10 of France's 577-member National Assembly are black. Blacks remain similarly underrepresented in the private sector⁹ -- less likely to find jobs, experts say, and less likely to be promoted when they do.

There are some signs of change, such as when France's leading TF1 news agency hired a black reporter last summer to fill in for its top anchor. But activists¹⁰ like Aounit say these are symbolic¹¹ gestures.

"The problem is not about having a black journalist on television," Aounit says, "but how to ensure conditions that pluralism exists throughout the media and in every part of French society."

There are disturbing trends to the contrary. In a survey last year, one in three French described themselves as "a bit" or "somewhat" racist. In another, published last week, 13-percent of respondents said they would likely vote for far-right, anti-immigrant leader Jean-Marie le Pen in April presidential elections.

On the streets of Paris, some blacks were reluctant to talk about discrimination they might face. But 36-year-old Jacques Bassong was not.

A native of Cameroon, Bassong moved to France in 1979. He says he faces discrimination from time to time, at work, in government offices, even in the stores. Some French are more racist than others, he says, but generally the incidents are bearable.

Last week, France's Canal Plus television channel aired a two-part documentary called "In the Skin of a Black." In it, white and black French "traded places and races" with the help of heavy makeup¹². It tracked the problems faced by members of the "new" black family because of their skin.

But French politicians running in this year's presidential and legislative¹³ elections seem to be waking up to the power of blacks and other minorities, as prospective¹⁴ voters. Even Le Pen is reaching out. His National Front party launched a poster featuring a black woman making the thumbs-down sign and the slogan: "Left/right - they have broken everything."

Still France has never had any nationally known presidential candidate who is black or any other racial minority. Is the country ready for a black president?

Black association head Patrick Lozes says he thinks the French electorate¹⁵ is much more open to the concept than French politicians. But Aounit, of the anti-discrimination movement, disagrees.

Aounit says he believes French voters are not at all ready to elect a member of an ethnic minority as president. And that, he says, is unfortunate.

1 integration   

n.一体化，联合，结合

参考例句：

• We are working to bring about closer political integration in the EU.我们正在努力实现欧盟內部更加紧密的政治一体化。
• This was the greatest event in the annals of European integration.这是欧洲统一史上最重大的事件。

2 racist   

n.种族主义者，种族主义分子

参考例句：

• a series of racist attacks 一连串的种族袭击行为
• His speech presented racist ideas under the guise of nationalism. 他的讲话以民族主义为幌子宣扬种族主义思想。

3 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

4 aggression   

n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害

参考例句：

• So long as we are firmly united, we need fear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结，就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part of human nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。

5 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

6 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。

7 creed   

n.信条；信念，纲领

参考例句：

• They offended against every article of his creed.他们触犯了他的每一条戒律。
• Our creed has always been that business is business.我们的信条一直是公私分明。

8 dwellings   

n.住处，处所( dwelling的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The development will consist of 66 dwellings and a number of offices. 新建楼区将由66栋住房和一些办公用房组成。
• The hovels which passed for dwellings are being pulled down. 过去用作住室的陋屋正在被拆除。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

10 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

12 makeup   

n.组织；性格；化装品

参考例句：

• Those who failed the exam take a makeup exam.这次考试不及格的人必须参加补考。
• Do you think her beauty could makeup for her stupidity?你认为她的美丽能弥补她的愚蠢吗？

13 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

14 prospective   

adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的

参考例句：

• The story should act as a warning to other prospective buyers.这篇报道应该对其他潜在的购买者起到警示作用。
• They have all these great activities for prospective freshmen.这会举办各种各样的活动来招待未来的新人。

15 electorate   

n.全体选民；选区

参考例句：

• The government was responsible to the electorate.政府对全体选民负责。
• He has the backing of almost a quarter of the electorate.他得到了几乎1/4选民的支持。