Wacquant’s contrast of French and American ‘ghettoes’

Résumé du document

‘The American ghetto is far more closed, penalizing and violent than the decaying French periphery' This introduction by E. Mingione to Wacquant's study summarizes the contrast demonstrated between the ‘Red Belt', that is the French working class cities and the ‘Black Belt' standing for the American Black ghettoes. Indeed, Wacquant's conclusion of his comparative study of La Courneuve and Woodawn is that there is a deep contrast between French and American urban enclaves. Although there are some morphological trends shared by both areas, it is said in his article that the negative stigma, the violence and bad organization as well as the segregation and cleavages in both suburbs differ. Nevertheless, last year French riots could seem to contradict Wacquant comparative analysis insofar that the French urban crisis seems as explosive as the American one. The unexplained death of two young people at an electrical substation while they were hiding from the police on October 27 in Clichy sous Bois led to two weeks of urban violence characterized by number of burnt cars and vandalized public facilities in urban areas in all the main urban areas in France. These riots emphasize the failure of the French social model as well as they can show an Americanization of French ghettoes.

Extraits

[...] After the riots of last year in France, how valid do you consider Wacquant's contrast of French and American ‘ghettoes'? American ghetto is far more closed, penalizing and violent than the decaying French periphery'This introduction by E. Mingione to Wacquant's study summarizes the contrast demonstrated between the Belt', that is the French working class cities and the ‘Black Belt' standing for the American Black ghettoes. Indeed, Wacquant's conclusion of his comparative study of La Courneuve and Woodawn is that there is a deep contrast between French and American urban enclaves. [...]

[...] It does lead to an overpresence of the state in French cités whereas American ghettoes are desertified by the state. In addition, people living in projects in the Red and in the Black belt are experiencing a different position as far as the labour market is concerned. American inhabitants of projects are still integrated but only marginalised as ‘working poors' in the labour market while French inhabitants of banlieues are touched by long term unemployment that completely separates them from the labour market. [...]

[...] If French cités inhabitants are not taking for granted the discrimination they are experiencing whereas the American individualism seem to justify poverty and exclusion by individual failures. Sociological terms and strategies of the American and French States can emphasize this difference. If American sociologists tend to speak of an underclass in opposition to the middle class, French sociologists use the term exclusion in opposition to inclusion. Welfare state and Workfare state are too different ways of dealing with the issue. [...]

[...] After the riots of last year in France, how valid is Wacquant's contrast of French and American ‘ghettoes'? In other words, it has to be said if the french riots impact on the comparative analysis tends to emphasize rather similarities between both ghettoes than contrast. After having seen how the French riots crisis seems to discredit Wacquant's Red and Black belts contrast, it will be shown that his thesis is still relevant. First, let us underline why it can be said that the french riots discredit Wacquant's contrast. [...]

[...] In fact, second generations of immigrants are more likely to live in these areas what can lead to a similarity between American racialisation of ghettoes and French ethnicisation. Because of the deindustrialization and the crisis of employment that follow, these people are either out of the labour market or employed for inferior wages. At present it is more than questionable whether the gains in service sector employment will make up for the losses in manufacturing. People living in these projects are not only poor but they are also isolated from the rest of the society.The inhabitants of these ghettoes are racially and territorially discriminated against when they look for job as Wilson account highlights. [...]