Worldfocus

In 2005, France tightened immigration controls after riots erupted in immigrant suburbs — involving poor youth from the country’s large African community.

About 10 percent of France’s population has African or Arab roots. Many speak of racism and discrimination — including derogatory name-calling from President Nicolas Sarkozy himself.

Today, the divide persists, as evidenced by further clashes between youth and police earlier this year.

Worldfocus correspondent Martin Seemungal travels to the town of Epinay, the site of violent riots three years ago, where tensions between the Arab and French populations still remain.

Below, bloggers from France and elsewhere discuss the riots and their roots.

In 2005, blogger Doug Ireland explored the historical and social roots of the riots.

Three years later, the “Johhny Come Latelies” blog writes that nothing has changed and the government’s promises are empty.

“Lauren’s Blog” says that the French media has virtually ignored the causes of the riots, comparing the lack of minorities in French news coverage to U.S. coverage of Hurricane Katrina.

The “BondyBlog” (in French) writes about social issues in the poor French suburb of Bondy, a site of past riots. See Google’s English translation, including a post about the identity crisis of French suburbs on the anniversary of the riots.

The blog’s founder, Frenchman Mohamed Hamidi, has been highly critical of Nicolas Sarkozy.

This year, the U.S. State Department began recruiting international visitors from poor French suburbs in an attempt to quell anti-American sentiment abroad.