Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
people from the Caribbean, Africa, the Middle East, Asia
and the Pacii c all over the country, though they tend to
congregate in certain areas around Paris.
But until 1962, the major foreign presence in France was
the Italians, followed by the Spaniards. The Poles, Russians,
Armenians, Hungarians and Portuguese have also come to
France in large numbers (over 250,000 each) during various
political upheavals in their own countries in the last century.
These have successfully assimilated into French culture,
though you can still i nd some good restaurants, should you
tire of French cuisine.
People of some former colonies of France, particularly
the dark-skinned peoples of West Africa, the West Indies
and the South Pacii c, generally fare better in France than in
other predominantly white countries. These French-speaking
'southerners' are generally easy-going and add variety to the
mix of food and fashion. They are accepted as authentic and
at the same time, French.
French Asians from Vietnam, Cambodia and China
are considered honest, hard-working and colourful. They
have made i ne contributions to the cosmopolitan cuisine
of Paris as well. You will also i nd many racially 'mixed'
couples in France. Children of all racial and economic
backgrounds enjoy the public parks in general harmony.
The one group with the most difi culties assimilating are
also the largest.
The Problematic Beurs
With the independence of the former French colony,
Algeria, in 1962 came a huge inl ux of pro-French Muslims.
The French refer to them as 'Arabs' without a particularly
kind tone, and they now make up the largest minority in
France. Actually from Berber extraction (
Beurs
), you will i rst
appreciate their presence running the late night convenience
stores around the city. Here you can still get something for
the larder sometimes as late as midnight.
The Beurs are the under class of France today, and
while they are French-educated, they have not been easily
assimilated. In 2004, the banning of headcovers in the French
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