A Map of Racism in France.

We at “Plurielles” have conceived the ambitious project of drawing up a map of racism in France. A curious idea, you will tell me, and perhaps it is difficult at first glance to perceive the usefulness of such a project. Racism remains, in our country, one of the words — and one of the ills — most subject to ambiguities of behavior. I am not speaking here of the behavior of the basic racist, whether the one who is bothered by smells, or those who dig up corpses, driven by the extraordinary courage it takes to do so. No, I want to speak of the mass of citizens, not very well informed, who think, often rightly, that France is a beautiful country, temperate in its climate as in its political passions, but who also think, sometimes wrongly, that France is nothing but a sweet France, a haven of welcome where “everyone is good, everyone is nice.” Which, without wishing to hide behind our little finger, we do not believe. We therefore had the idea of analyzing, of photographing, to the extent of our means, the face of racism, its presence, its importance, but also the importance of the forces that combat it, in most of the great cities

of France. Obviously, since our true wealth lies above all in the loyalty and the choice of values of our readers, we will need, in order to bring this project to fruition, your sagacity, your observations, your testimonies — in a word, your mobilization for this screening X-ray of this cancer of our time.

Our friend Rolland Doukhan, passing through Marseille, had the opportunity to meet, with this in view, two representatives of that numerous community. They are Jocelyn Zeitoun, President of the CRIF for the Marseille-Provence region, and Robert Mizrahi, President of the FSJU, vice-president of the CRIF, and vice-president of the Consistory.

He put to them both substantially the same questions. Here is the most faithful possible account of these two interviews — an account for which we apologize to the two personalities questioned, should it not reproduce their answers word for word. (We will indicate Rolland Doukhan by the letters R.D., Jocelyn Zeitoun by J.Z., and Robert Mizrahi by R.M.)

INTERVIEWS IN THE FIELD

Rolland Doukhan: How do you perceive the presence of the Front National in your region — I mean Marseille and Provence?

Jocelyn Zeitoun: Of course, the presence of the FN is a problem of a national order, but it is felt more strongly in the Marseille-Provence region, given, on the one hand, the high percentage of immigrant population — I mean above all Arab-Muslim — that lives there, and, on the other hand, the significant economic problems linked to employment from which the region suffers.

Robert Mizrahi: As early as 1974, when questioned by the journalist Dominique Laury, I predicted a dangerous resurgence of antisemitism, on the occasion of the presidential elections in which Le Pen was a candidate. His score at the time (around 0.69%) seemed to belie my fears. It turns out that, in the years that followed, and on the occasion of the various elections that succeeded one another, the calculations of Le Pen — who reckoned he could build his stock-in-trade on the backdrop of the presence of North African workers in the region — proved justified. It is true that in the legislative elections of 1988 the FN list was soundly defeated, but in 1989 neither the traditional right (Gaudin) nor the nuanced apoliticism of Vigouroux waged any real fight against the far right in the municipal elections in Marseille.

J.Z.: The presence of the FN was felt above all last year, in the cantonal and regional elections, because their proportional voting system was obviously going to give the FN seats within important bodies such as the Regional Council and the General Council — bodies that have a direct influence on our everyday lives. We therefore experienced these elections as the source of great difficulties to come, all the more so since the previous year there had been a certain chumminess between the President of the Regional Council and this faction of the far right.

R.D.: Chumminess of what kind?

J.Z.: Everyone knows that, for 7 years, Mr. Gaudin had been elected with the support of the FN. It is true that, during his term, Mr. Gaudin managed to navigate skillfully in these troubled waters, and that the Jewish community did not register any particular problems with him.

Before last year’s elections, we went to see Mr. Gaudin, and we clearly conveyed to him our position regarding the FN. His response and his position were very clear. He was not elected with the FN’s votes, and the FN today is in the opposition within the Council.

R.D.: Have you noted reactions within the Jewish community to the racism that strikes the other communities, and essentially the Arab-Muslim community?

R.M.: It is true that, personally, I think and I believe that when racism launches a first attack against the Arabs, the Africans, or against any other community not experienced as “French-born,” the second blow is always reserved for the Jews. Only, for a long time, I have had the impression of crying in the wilderness. It must be said that it is a very widespread human reflex to mobilize only on the occasions that touch you personally. I remember having myself taken part in a demonstration in favor of Solidarność, for greater democracy in Poland. The friend who was marching at my side on the Canebière suddenly said to me: do you realize that we are demonstrating for one of the most antisemitic countries in the world? Well, I walked another 10 meters and stepped out of the procession. I believe it is the same type of reflex that animates our Jews originally from Algeria, Tunisia, or Morocco when they are asked to do something to help those who, although suffering from the same enemy as us, remain for them “those who drove them out of their homes.”

I must say, however, that the trend is beginning to reverse.

J.Z.: For my part, I will qualify the point a little. One must know that the Jewish community instinctively rallies to the side of the oppressed. A few days ago, we took part in an appeal for Bosnia. The Jews came out in significant numbers on this matter. No Jew can rejoice at seeing an Arab insulted, struck, or killed, because he knows that tomorrow it would be his turn to be so.

R.D.: During this electoral period, were you able to organize actions jointly with the other communities?

J.Z.: I must say, for my part, that several months before the elections we conducted a genuine civic campaign for registration on the electoral rolls, not only among the members of our community but also among the other communities (Armenian, North African) and among associative movements. We met their political leaders, and this action bore fruit, since many people went to register — above all. Our attitude even spread like wildfire across the rest of Provence, and even across France, since we even held a colloquium in Paris on this question.

Our action was clear: meet with political leaders, of the right or of the left, with the same message, namely: no support for anyone who would show the slightest inclination toward an agreement — even a management agreement — with the FN. We also contacted voters personally, which required hundreds upon hundreds of phone calls. And the far right was defeated.

R.D.: What percentage do you give the FN in Provence/Côte d’Azur?

J.Z.: The percentage is probably fairly high. The fact remains that all the polls that gave first place to Mégret were wrong, since he was well and truly beaten, coming in third behind Tapie and Gaudin. And the Jewish community, which represents all the same 10% of the votes in Marseille and its suburbs, was not a stranger to this victory. It is true that there is an antisemitic current, but it would be false to believe that it engulfs the whole of the population.

R.M.: The percentage of the FN in Marseille varies, obviously, according to the arrondissements. Its presence, for example, is virtually nil in the 2nd. In the 8th arrondissement, where, however, the Beurs do not live, one notes a greater presence of Le Pen’s ideas. But where the FN is strongest is in the working-class neighborhoods like the 15th and 16th arrondissements. There one reaches figures on the order of 32 to 33%.

R.D.: In the face of this state of affairs, can one speak of a shared awareness of the same racist enemy?

J.Z.: Absolutely! As I have already told you, we contacted the Armenian community which, though fairly divided, is sufficiently motivated on the level of the anti-racist struggle to give us a favorable reception. Likewise, the North African community, grappling with its own problems of fundamentalism, nevertheless understood that we had the same enemy. I must say that we obviously set aside the Israeli problem. But they have that feeling one finds within a single family when one of the family members seems to have succeeded better than the other. It is true that, at the level of integration, the Jews are indeed one or two generations ahead of them, but in spite of everything, this integration is under way, and that is what is important.

R.D.: This leads me to ask your opinion on the proposed amendments to the nationality code.

R.M.: You know, all the political leaders today take into account the fact that the Beurs are real voters, holding their citizen’s card. This is an inescapable reality, whatever the grandmother whose handbag was snatched, or the motorist whose car radio was stolen, may think of it. All this will gently fall into place…

R.D.: As for me, I think things will be clearer when we call a thief a thief, and not a North African.

R.M.: Entirely of your opinion!

R.D.: And you, Mr. Zeitoun, your opinion on this question of the nationality code?

J.Z.: Listen, I’ll wait and see. Like all those who have a republican formation, I am uneasy at these distinctions between who is French and who is not — jus sanguinis, jus soli, and so on… I fear slippages. It is true that there is a problem with clandestine immigration, and that there too, viable solutions will have to be found, but, in any event, things are not yet clear. One must wait and see.

■

Paul CELAN, “DEATH FUGUE”

Black milk of daybreak we drink it at evening
we drink it at midday and morning we drink it at night
we drink and we drink
we dig a grave in the air there one does not
lie cramped
A man lives in the house he plays with
the serpents he writes …….
he writes it and goes to his door and the stars
flash he whistles his hounds
he whistles to summon his Jews and has them dig
a grave in the earth
he commands play and let there be dancing

Black milk of daybreak we drink you at night
we drink you at midday and morning we drink you at evening
we drink and we drink
A man lives in the house he plays with the serpents he writes
he writes when the dark dusk comes to
Germany your golden hair Margarete
Your ashen hair Sulamith we dig
a grave in the air there one does not lie
cramped
He cries dig the Earth deeper you
the ones and you the others sing and play
from his belt he draws the iron he brandishes it his
eyes are blue
deeper the spades into the earth you
the ones and you the others play play for the dancing (…………)

(Pavot et mémoire — Poppy and Memory, Christian Bourgois, publisher)

The poems that follow are excerpted from:
“THE MIRROR OF A PEOPLE”
(Anthology of Yiddish Poetry, 1870–1970)
Texts selected, translated, and presented by Charles DOBZYNSKI.

Peretz MARKICH:

“Born December 7, 1895, in Polnoye (Volhynia), executed August 12, 1952. He began, from the age of fifteen, to write poems in Russian. He received for his work, in 1939, the Order of Lenin, while his star never ceased to shine at the zenith of Soviet literatures. A victim of the repressions that were to decimate an entire generation, an entire culture, his tragic disappearance marks the end of the golden age of Yiddish letters in the Soviet Union.”

‘Levi, the wood sculptor’ (extract)

‘The executioners shoved Levi toward the mill, They forced him to take up a spade. The night Swayed like a hanged man beneath the rope. An orchestra played Kol Nidre in the sails Of the mill. The jackals amid the darkness Called to one another, one cry overpowering other cries, And drawing notes from the keyboard of bones. It was as if from this mill of souls in torment, At a demon’s command, a diabolical concert arose. The earth was red with blood, And the horizon seemed black with an obscure disaster. The sails of the mill stretched out into space Like dark hands knotted to the air. Yet Levi does not understand what is happening, Levi does not understand the evil born of hell. It is as though Satan were rising up in this world Or as though the world were possessed by the Dibbuk.’ (…….)