Just months after falling victim to a major Islamist terror attack, France has been told by a panel of UN ‘experts’ that it has a racism problem, and needs to take action to combat “xenophobia”.
The UN human rights watchdog expressed disappointment that France had failed to make ‘racial hatred’ a crime, and cited the postings made by private individuals on-line as a justification of its criticism of the French government, it is reported.
TheLocal.fr reproduces a section of the report, which remarks: “The committee is concerned by the recrudescence of hate and xenophobic speech in certain political circles and the media which contribute to the trivialisation of racism and xenophobia”. France is experiencing significant shifts in social attitudes towards some minorities, as parts of a rapidly growing Muslim minority victimises the dwindling Jewish population.
Even before the Charlie Hebdo and Hyper Cacher Kosher supermarket attacks in January, France was experiencing a historically significant exodus of Jews, either to less anti-Semetic Britain, or to Israel, which has made a point of welcoming French Jews escaping Islamist persecution in Europe.
France has taken significant steps to offer protection to the dwindling Jewish population, launching a €100 million programme to combat anti-Semitism, and has stationed thousands of soldiers outside synagogues to forestall further terror attacks. Despite these efforts, the UN remains dissatisfied.
Another minority the panel has picked out as being subject to poor treatment are Roma Gypsies, which it is claimed are having their human rights infringed by French authorities. The use of ‘excessive police force’ in clearing gypsy camps has been cited.
As Breitbart London reported in April, the “unbearable smell” of Roma Gypsies using public transport in Montpellier, France, had prompted strikes by unionised bus drivers and the establishment of a second, parallel route for their exclusive use.
France isn’t the only European country where the anti-social behaviour of gypsy groups has elicited extreme results by public transport chiefs. Last year, a Turin area mayor also established a separate ‘gypsy only’ bus route, after one line which ran past an encampment to the centre of town became unusable to locals.
A “blonde haired Moldovan” bus user described her bus being attacked by gypsies who wanted to ride into town: “Everyone was attacked. They punched the ticket machine. Then they got on the bus and stuck a knife to my cheek… if it wasn’t for the bus driver, I don’t know how it would have ended”.
Others reported beng spat upon, having their hair cut off, and having mobile phones and bags stolen. When Borgaro’s mayor said: “Two lines, one for us and one for them”, but insisted “It’s not racism, it’s just a way to solve a problem that has gone on for too long” he was reportedly met with cheers by locals.
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