The
French are yearning for Obama … or maybe not.
Rue 89, France
'Where is the French Obama?'
"There is something hypocritical in
the 'Obamania' that is sweeping France … This is
typical for France, where one likes to extol the merits of recipes from abroad
without doing anything to concoct them 'at home.'"
By Guy Numa, Professor and Researcher at Paris-Dauphine
Translated
By Sandrine Ageorges
July 22, 2008
France
- Rue 89 - Original Article (French)
There is something hypocritical
in the "Obamania" that is sweeping France:
Obama, Black, young and un-cunning, is the archetype of the kind of person that
the French political class invariably fails to produce. This is typical for France, where one likes to extol the
merits of recipes from abroad without doing anything to concoct them "at
home."
The impact of the Black Senator’s
candidacy on France is hardly ever discussed - and
can even be characterized as silence. How to explain that a
"phenomena" like Obama still hasn’t occurred in our country? It's
been 160 years since France
definitely abolished
slavery, and yet one must note that the effective integration of
"minorities" in the economic and political sphere is infinitesimal.
In the National Assembly, the large majority of Black members are from the overseas
territories. Out of the 577 elected MPs, there is just a single exception:
George Pau-Langevin [She is the MP for 21st
district of Paris].
Where is the French Obama? The
courageous Christiane Taubira
had merits in her time. Unfortunately, the
enthusiasm generated by her candidacy didn't reach beyond the first round of
the 2002 presidential election. We have to go back to colonial times to find
traces of talented Black politicians in high office: Gaston Monnerville
, the former
Senate president who nearly became interim president of the Republic in 1969 -
if of course he hadn't resigned from his post a few months earlier; or Félix Houphouët-Boigny , the first
President of the Ivory-Coast who held the rank of Minister of State on several
occasions. How can we make sense of the fact that personalities from the French
Colonies in 1950s and 60s were associated with managing the country of Lights,
and yet today we have no French Obama?
THE ROLES OF THE PARTIES
Obama’s path was possible only
because the structures of the Democratic Party enabled him to emerge, over and
above his undeniable attributes: charisma and talent. Just as the Republican
Party has allowed Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell to emerge and assume top
levels of accountability and visibility.
To those who retort that for all
things, there must be a beginning, and that the presence of Justice Minister Rachida Dati [French-Moroccan ]
and Secretary of State for Human Rights Rama Yade [French-Senegalese ]
in the government is just that - so we should rejoice, I say that there's
nothing new to this.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
The practice of conferring
ministerial posts on Blacks (Caribbean or Africans) or to people of North African
origin is nothing new: others who come to mind are Léon
Bertrand [former tourism minister who is French Guyanese ], Roger Bambuck [former minister of youths and sports ],
and former secretary of state for integration Kofi Yamgnane [French Togolese …
OBAMA-SARKOZY PRESS CONFERENCE; REPORTERS' QUESTIONS
During the waning years of the
colonial era, personalities like [the first president of Senegal] Léopold Sédar Senghor in 1955-56 , [former
assistant secretary of state] Hammadoun Dicko in 1957, Modibo Keita in
1956-57 were also named ministers. Keita even became
Vice President of the National Assembly. One can also include, among others,
Gabriel Lisette, councilor-minister to between 1959
and 1961 - or a woman, Nafissa Cid Sara - between 1957 and 1962.
It's therefore urgent and
necessary to redouble the discussion about the scope of Obama’s candidacy. In
this connection, I must concede my surprise at the relative silence of the
Representative Council of Black Associations. I would have liked to hear the
organization explain the meaning of Obama’s candidacy for Blacks in France. In any case, I expected more
than a press release.
CLICK HERE FOR FRENCH
VERSION
[Posted by
WORLDMEETS.US July 28, 7:49pm]
