Commentaires sur : “France, you like it or leave it”: Response to Mr Sarkozy from someone who loved it and left it

Par : Fatiha

Fatiha — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 13:09:25 +0000

Thanks for your comments and for sharing this point of view. I did put a sarcastic tone to my words but only to emphasize the feelings of rejection that many of us experience. I think that french media play a big role in this situation and have a lot of work to do to improve the image of ethnic minorities in France, to be more accessible to everyone and to educate the population…

Let’s just hope that « a change is gonna come » (Same Cooke)

Par : Moustafa

Moustafa — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 23:52:07 +0000

I do understand what you feel Sylvia

Par : Sylvia

Sylvia — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 10:05:16 +0000

Well… all I can say is that I loved France and I left it because of unemployment! I still come back to France twice a year to see my family but I don’t feel I belong there anymore. It is certainly due to the fact that Sarkozy is now the president of this country… I watch the Zapping everyday and 5 minutes of him a day is enough for me. It gives me a clear idea of what French people see and hear on a daily basis and I am ashamed of this country and this government, I must say. This is not a republic anymore and people just believe everything the censured media tell them. Only a minority of people see the government as it really is and that worries me. What worries me more is that I don’t see how/when things can change because who can fight against Sarkozy? Where is the left wing? Who are the new opponents who are going to show and convince French people that the situation is now very dangerous? I don’t recognise this France anymore. Am I proud to be French? Yes, because I am proud of my roots and of my values but if people talked to me about Sarkozy, what I can tell them???

Par : MiKe

MiKe — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 17:53:15 +0000

Hmm, Interesting comments

Par : birame seye

birame seye — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 17:45:33 +0000

This is clearly an interesting topic, as a french citizen of African origin,I have been affected like many brothers and sisters who have migrated abroad. Its a shame that the term « dicrimination » still persist in modern day France.

Par : MiKe

MiKe — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 05:01:55 +0000

Thanks a lot I liked the article

Par : Gilles

Gilles — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 11:41:09 +0000

Hi,

I entirely share the vision described in this article. The words of the French presidents are rude, mainly for people like me who had to leave their country. Indeed, I am a white French, and my family has leaved in France for years (maybe for as long as Brittany has belonged to France). However, I had to leave during an economic crisis, during it was required to seek for jobs for at least 6 months before being offered a position. With a Master in IT, I worked as a cashier for Lidl before I started selling mobile phones. Only people from rich families could spend time searching for jobs, living on their parents’ income. I did not have this chance.
Besides, there are two groups in France: those coming from the University and those coming from Engineering schools. Enterprises are led by engineers, and they mostly employ people from engineering schools. Others have less opportunities and can hardly evolved in their enterprises.

In England, I spent a year improving my English. First, I worked in a pasty shop, before becoming a supply teacher. As a foreigner, I had no right for respect. But I was given opportunities to learn and climb up the hierarchy. I built up my career through work, and not because my parents had enrolled me in good expensive schools.

It is also true that the French stereotype is very strong in the UK. As soon as I say where I come from, I am considered as a wine expert and a constant baguette-eater. But who cares? I think that the French community in the UK is far more aware of what « being French » means. In France, people keep listening to the lies of their leaders. They have completely lost the French values, those that defined the « grandeur de la France » (greatness of France). While politics talk about military power, foreigners talk about free spirit, the ability to fight for human rights via different intellectual movements. As soon as French people stop thinking and being intellectual, they actually stop being French. French people fight for their citizens rights (as they did during the Lumieres, the French revolution, or in May 68). French people don’t give up on their country. They might leave it temporarily, but it is only to organise themselves and fight for their ideal France.