http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/20/world/europe/france-minorities-assimilation.html 2016-09-20 10:04:03 France Fears Becoming Too ‘Anglo-Saxon’ in Its Treatment of Minorities The French worry that they’re slipping into the American and British model, which they perceive as keeping ethnicities apart, instead of forming a single identity. === PARIS — The idea that this model, or “communautarisme,” should be so repellent can be baffling to Anglo-Saxons, largely understood by the French to be British and Americans who, for the most part, stopped thinking of themselves exclusively in such narrow terms long ago. France’s idea of an Anglo-Saxon model has meant many things over the last century, sometimes referring to liberal capitalism, rampant individualism, consumerism or, in the view of President Charles de Gaulle, the threat of a global hegemony based on American power and the English language. But today the perceived Anglo-Saxon threat is about the breakdown of France into distinct communities based on ethnic identity. Prime Minister Manuel Valls referred to this obliquely in Nicolas Sarkozy, the former president now seeking his conservative party’s nomination for next year’s presidential election, was more explicit in his latest book. Calling for a muscular defense of the French identity, he wrote, “We are not like the Anglo-Saxons who let communities live side by side, ignoring each other and at any rate not mixing.” The issue is not just whether the French model, which emphasizes integration or assimilation into a single identity, is succeeding or not these days. The question is also why the British and American experience with immigration is viewed through such a skewed lens. Both countries have long traditions of tolerating multiple identities and community-based politics, which produces candidates who represent ethnic groups and their concerns. Unlike France, the United States and Britain allow census figures on ethnic origins and religious affiliations, and celebrations of diverse identities are encouraged. That is not to say that racism and de facto segregation are not stubborn realities in the United States and Britain, with issues like police violence against black men growing more visible rather than less. This year, appeals to nativist sentiments helped propel Still, that hardly adds up to societies divided into autonomous neighborhoods that shun contact with one another, an exaggeration that would surprise recent immigrants who live in the swirling mix of cultures that define London, New York and other cities. So what is it that makes the Anglo-Saxon model so scary to the French today? Emile Chabal, a professor of modern French history at the University of Edinburgh, traces it to France’s deeply held faith in a single, indivisible republic that makes no distinction among its citizens. “Within French republicanism, which is today the dominant political language, the fear of fragmentation is very powerful and very real,” Mr. Chabal said in an interview. “This means any political process that is seen to encourage that — community leaders, accommodations to certain groups — is seen as a threat to the unity of the nation.” So why is the threat of a creeping Anglo-Saxon model being brandished in France today? Mr. Chabal said it was a political response based on a “double lie,” one that is a misreading of life on the ground in Britain and the United States, as well as a denial of reality in France. In fact, he said, the differences between the two approaches are narrowing. In France, despite their allegiance to republican values, local politicians are compelled to deal with competing concerns of diverse communities. “It is the reality of a pluralistic society,” Mr. Chabal said. “Pressure groups are part and parcel of modern democracy.”