Explains DW-World :

In an interview with “Inrockuptibles” magazine last summer, N'Diaye said she had decided to leave France and move to Berlin in 2007 “in great part because of Sarkozy.”

The controversy began after Eric Raoult, a lawmaker and member of Sarkozy's ruling UMP party, wrote to the culture minister last week recommending that NDiaye be reminded of the “duty of restraint” that comes with the Goncourt.

In response, France's cultural establishment has thrown accusations of censorship into the debate. Bernard Pivot, a Goncourt jury member, accused Raoult of knowing nothing about the literary scene.

N'Diaye, born in 1967 to a French mother and a Senegalese father, won the Goncourt prize for her novel, “Trois femmes puissantes” (”Three Powerful Women”), a story about three women caught between France and Senegal and the hellish ordeal of illegal migration from Africa.

“The story of these migrants has been told many times before, but if this can help people understand their fate a bit better, I will be happy,” said NDiaye.

What was it that stirred Eric Raoult's ire? No less than an interview of the woman novelist, when she answered magazine Les Inrocks's question : “Do you feel well in Sarkozy's France?” saying [fr]:

« Je trouve cette France-là monstrueuse. Le fait que nous (avec son compagnon l’écrivain Jean-Yves Cendrey, et leurs trois enfants – ndlr) ayons choisi de vivre à Berlin n’est pas étranger à ça. (…) Je trouve détestable cette atmosphère de flicage, de vulgarité… »

Renowned law blogger Maître Eolas demolishes Mr. Raoult's claim in an ironically well-argued post [Fr], finally awarding him the “Prix Busiris” (”buse” may be translated by “dolt”).

First, he rectifies a grammatical mistake :

Tout d’abord, et le ministre de la culture et de la communication aura rectifié de lui-même, le devoir de réserve ne peut en tout état de cause être dû aux lauréats mais dû par les lauréats : cette erreur de préposition fait du lauréat le créancier alors que dans l’esprit la tête du député, il en serait évidemment le débiteur.

And legally ? Among the texts, the blogger quotes of course the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen along with the European Convention on Human Rights. And the “duty of restraint”, traditionally asked from civil servants ?

Le devoir de réserve est souvent invoqué à tort et à travers par des gens qui n’y ont rien compris comme interdisant à un fonctionnaire de s’exprimer, y compris parfois sur des affaires purement privées.

The lawyer concludes on the M.P.'s dishonesty, before dealing the finishing blow :

Ajoutons à cela qu’en 2005, en tant que maire du Raincy, lors des émeutes de l’automne, il fut le premier à proclamer l’état d’urgence dans sa commune pourtant épargnée par les actes de violence afin de griller la politesse au premier ministre, ce qui montre une certaine tendance à la gesticulation inutile pour attirer l’attention sur lui.

Ce qui établit en même temps le mobile d’opportunité politique, et emporte la décision.

Other bloggers also had scathing words.

On Art contemporain, la peau de l'ours, Philippe Rillon writes [fr]:

Nous comprenons fort bien que le devoir de réserve s’impose à tout serviteur de l’Etat; mais depuis quand la littérature et les auteurs sont ils assimilés aux fonctionnaires avec leurs droits et devoirs?

Nous avions déjà une “Culture administrée”, nous voici maintenant “artistes fonctionnaires” comme si Paris était Berlin-est d’avant la chute du mur…
(…)
Il serait quand même étonnant qu’au lendemain d’une hyper-médiatique commémoration de la chute du mur, ce godillot vienne gâcher le spectacle idylique des dominos qui tombent.

Meanwhile, Marie Ndiaye, after an attempt at toning down her words in an interview with radio station Europe 1, which in the midst of the turmoil went unnoticed, appealed to French Minister of Culture Frédéric Mitterrand. The latter deems the controversy “trivial” and “ridiculous” [fr], and the main players stick to their guns [fr].

What is Creole, exactly? This is probably one of the most debated topics among linguists worldwide - it is an incredibly complex and diverse language. The fruit of migrations and population mingling, Creole language has been, since the distant times of slavery, a vernacular language, either prohibited or underrated. But things started to change in the 1980s, as explained by the Creole-oriented Reunionese blog, Renyone [Cr, Eng]:

In 1981 scientists having Creole as their mother tongue started asking themselves questions about the methods that could be used to promote the Creole language, following a scientific symposium organised by the international committee for Creole studies working on the theme: a Creole / Creoles, continuity and creativity in the Creole world.

Renyone gives more details about the establishment of what has become a tradition in most Creolophone countries [Eng]:

In 1982 the Seychelles government organised a Creole week.
[…]
The first international BANNZIL KREYOL day took place on the 28th October 1983. Ever since, the 28th October has been celebrated annually in all Creole countries the world over.

Since then, the preservation of this vernacular language, sometimes called a dialect, has been a great concern for many people as shown by this statement of objectives published by the International Organization of Creole People. A Facebook group named “Annou Palé Patwa” (Creole for “Let's speak Patois/Creole) relays this concern since in a topic entitled Creole Month, a Trinidadian user wonders about this year's celebration [En]:

Well October is Creole month the world over, what can we do to promote it in Trinidad?
[…]
What do you think will be the best way to go if we were to do something national?

Initiatives to promote, preserve or celebrate Creole are local field work as much as governemental policy. Here is a post published by Dominican blogger Living Dominica two years ago in which we can see that in some countries, this celebration is not just a token gesture [En]:

This month is Creole time here on Dominica, which is my very favorite celebration. This time of year is a festival honoring all things Dominican. Everyone gets into the spirit of things in the days leading up to Independence Day (Nov. 3) and the World Creole Music Festival (Oct. 26-28)

Mentioned above, the World Creole Music Festival was born 13 years ago from the Dominican government's will to associate the International Creole Month to its celebration of the Independence of the island on November 3rd 1978.

From all this, it is quite obvious that Creole Month and Creole Day, October 28th, are not uniformly celebrated worldwide. Here are some posts about 2009 Creole Day events:

From London, the group MBMB “Minm Biten, Minm Bagay” (Guadeloupean and Martinican Creole phrases which mean “it's all the same”) wrote a post in order to invite people to the event that took place on Sept. 27th 2009 and also to recall previous editions of their “MBMB Kreyol Day”.

In Canada, the Creole-oriented organization Kepkaa invites people for “Mwa kréyol la nan Monréyal” (Haitian Creole for “Creole Month in Montreal”) in a post entitled “Ann fété kilti kreyol nou yo” (Haitian Creole for “Let's celebrate Creole cultures together”). Another Canadian event was announced on Miss Creole Canada Pageant and relayed on Facebook, it was the first of its kind, crowning of a Miss from Creole heritage, which took place on October 17th, as part of the celebration of the Creole Month.

In Paris, blogger Anba pyé mango-la announces a cultural evening called “Tan Kréyol” (Creole for “Hear Creole”) where the oral transmission of Creole is given a place of honor [Fr Cr]:

Senn-la wouvè ba tout moun : poèt, chantè, slamè, makè, kontè, mizisyen… .

In Guadeloupe, the local authorities have organized a month-long program taking place in different locations, in order to celebrate “Mwa òktòb kréyol an mouvman” (Creole for “October, Creole in motion). Here are the two main points of this program posted by guadeloupe.coconews [Fr Cr]:

1. Prèmyé dékatman ba tout moun
2. Dézyèm dékatman èvè zanfan-lékòl

Finally, from Martinique, montraykreyol publishes a post which questions the Creole Month celebration there and most precisely the relevance of celebrating Creole in a week-long festival [Fr Cr]:

Es ou ka kwè ki an sel simenn pou défann kréyol adan tout lanné-a sifizan ?

CLAUDE MARLIN : Dapré mwen non, sa ja an pal pou kréyol-la menm manniè ki tout travay-la ki za fet asou lang-lan. Men fok pandan tout lanné-a, ni travay ki pou fet, fok véyatif toulong, pas menm si kréyol ka rantré latélévizion, laradio, nan piblisité kontel, bien délè sa ka an kréyol toubònman, tjòlòlò ek sa pé désèvi lang-la.

Srdjan Mitrovic wrote:

I am ashamed of this city, these politicians and this country.

Marko Jevtic created a Facebook group - “Stop Violence” - and, on his blog, invited readers to join it. He also wrote:

I am a Partizan fan. I was born and grew up in Belgrade… but I am ashamed.

REST IN PEACE BRIS

Srecko Sekeljic wrote:

Announcements and acts of violence, why the Gay Pride Parade has been forbidden in the capital’s center, why many people have been beaten, why Brice Taton has died tragically, why citizens can’t walk the streets of cities safely - all this shows very clearly the strong need for organizing a wide front against violence. The first step is for the citizens to take over the streets from groups and individuals who are spreading hatred and sowing fear and death. The next step is for the institutions to initiate and successfully bring criminal charges against individuals, groups and organizations that propagate and carry out the violence.

Serbian officials expressed their condolences to Brice’s family and said that Serbia would never forget him. Web site RTV Studio B published this statement by Ivica Dacic, the Interior Minister:

“On behalf of the Serbian Interior Ministry, I express my deepest condolences over the death of your son. Until the last moment we hoped that Brice and his youth would win. The news of his death, that the Serbian citizens received with great sorrow, is all the more tragic.”

According to ”Studio B”, the Human Rights Ministry State Secretary Marko Karadžić called on citizens to gather at Belgrade's central square at 11:30 CET on Wednesday to pay tribute to the victim with flowers and candles. He said:

It is horrible news that a French citizen lost his life this way in Belgrade. I want to call on all people in Belgrade to come to the Trg Republike square as a human gesture, light candles and leave flowers to show that there are many people in Serbia who are against violence and that Serbia will never forget French citizen Brice Taton, nor will it allow a similar thing to happen again.

President Tadic also reacted:

“Serbia will react with the highest level of seriousness, and with very strict principles. […]”

He added that this was a warning “to all groups that have been promoting violence over the last days.”

Zeinobia wants to save UNESCO from Farouk Hosni:

Because he is not the best candidate to head this international cultural organization and because he has been a member in corrupted regime for more than 20 years … Again as an Egyptian I refuse this candidacy which I believe is an insult to Egypt before the UNESCO

The vote updates are posted here but Tarek Ez ElDen says that:

Jewish Refugees gave a more detailed update on the status of the other candidates:

The candidates from Benin, Lithuania, Russian and Tanzania withdrew from the race to be Director-General before yesterday''s third round vote, leaving five names on the ballot slated for 6:30 p.m. tomorrow in Paris, UNESCO said on its website.

The remaining candidates are: Algeria's Mohammed Bedjaoui European Commissioner for External Relations, Benita Ferrero-Waldner (Austria) Egyptian Culture Minister Farouk Hosny Bulgarian former foreign minister Irina Gueorguieva Bokova and Ivonne Juez de A. Baki of Ecuador.

Muslims against Sharia do not approve of the Egyptian candidate as well:

He has been criticised for his unbridled hatred of Jews - stated in a pledge that he would burn any books printed in Israel that he found in Egyptian government libraries. He assailed U.S. UNESCO ambassador David T. Killion, claiming that Killion’s criticism of Hosni’s candidacy was motivated by Killion being Jewish. Killion is not Jewish, but even if he were, Hosni has no right to base his reply to Killion’s opposition to him on such a fact.

Notwithstanding Middle East political conflicts, Muslims are commanded to respect Jews as sharers in the revelation of One God. Conspiracy theory is common in the Muslim world, but does not befit a culture minister.

The New York Times reports that the Egyptians are rebuilding a dilapidated old synagogue in which the Rambam, Moses Maimonides (1135-1204) served as Rabbi during the last years of his life. I saw that synagogue in 1980. I even have pictures of it. We went inside for no more than a few minutes. There was nothing there.

The Times says that the Egyptians are now rebuilding the synagogue - and Egyptians are discovering that a sizable Jewish community used to live in their country - as a result of their desire to get Farouk Hosni elected as the head of UNESCO. The Times reports that the Egyptians would like to go just far enough for Hosni to win, but no further.

As Jewish lobbies, activists and commentators continue to run a smear campaign against the minister, the Egyptian foreign ministry has begun to voice their support for Hosni abroad in efforts to remove worries from Washington and Tel Aviv over his candidacy only days before the election in Paris on September 17.

 

Naila Gabr, the Assistant Foreign Minister for International Organization Affairs and the person responsible for a the nominations of Egyptians for international positions, held a meeting with the ambassadors of Asian and Latin American members of the Executive Board of UNESCO on Thursday, where she asked them to continue their support for the Egyptian candidate, despite international pressures contrary.

With banks out of the picture, microlending agencies step into the role usually held by the imperfect combination of relatives and often predatory money lenders. Microlending is most often associated with the developing world, but agencies have begun working in industrialized countries.

The Grameen Bank, the world’s first microfinance institution, was born in Bangladesh in 1983 by Mohammed Yunus, an economics professor who launched it to help alleviate rural poverty by providing much needed funds to entrepreneurs to grow their businesses. Not only would the poor repay these loans, Yunus argued, but the Grameen Bank’s lending style would become a sound investment. In 2006, Yunus won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts. By 2008 Grameen Bank had lent $7.6 billion.

As the internet age hit, microlenders began looking for ways to replicate the Grameen Bank's success online. With the rise of social networking, especially peer-to-peer media, these lenders found their answer. The question, however, remains: Will social media help create a sustainable market for microfinance?

It’s just one of the debates occurring during a Sept. 23-24 Harvard University conference, Can technologies help reduce poverty in developing countries?

One of the first microlenders to have an impact over the internet is the US-based Kiva, which began a few years after a couple traveled to East Africa in 2004. Kiva claims to be the world’s first “person-to-person micro-lending website.”

Here’s a good description of how Kiva works, from Tales From Beyond the Glimpse, a blog from Austria.

In Kiva's website you can lend to someone across the globe who needs a loan for their business - like raising goats, selling vegetables at market or making bricks. Each loan has a picture of the entrepreneur, a description of their business and how they plan to use the loan so you know exactly how your money is being spent - and you get updates letting you know how the entrepreneur is going.

The best part is, when the entrepreneur pays back their loan you get your money back or use it for another loan (I like this idea because you can give a small loan once and use the same amount over and over)- and Kiva's loans are managed by microfinance institutions on the ground who have a lot of experience doing this, so I suppose you can trust that your money is being handled responsibly.

I made a loan to Adjo Solomé in Togo. I liked her immediately because she's working with a sewing machine!

I love the internet because you can do things like this directly now.

Kiva allows a potential lender to browse profiles of people needing finance. If a entrepreneur is selected and a loan made, Kiva then allocates the funds to one of its microfianance partners, an agency working on the ground. The recipient will then repay the loan, usually at interest. (The use of interest is controversial, but common, within microfinance.) Kiva's site allows lenders to follow the money throughout the loan process, keeping tabs on repayment and other personal updates. This has caught on to other lending sites.

What helps drives these sites isn't just the loans; it's the methods used to make the funds available. “Social networks are important,” writes Jon Camfield in his self-titled blog. “Trust — more commonly called social capital in this situation — is the strength and number of interpersonal connections. Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and the like are convenient ways to map out these connections (within a connected group of people), but hardly replace them.”

This is by no means new in development theory, and is often portrayed as either the keystone to successful development or a red herring (and to be fair, it's probably both).
Social Networks also provide a second important role. Beyond increasing trust to enable all sorts of transactions, and providing back-channels to smooth those along, they also improve (if not outright cause) technology diffusion. Spread throughout a network will be innovators, experimenters and early adopters who create, tweak and test new ideas, and then begin to spread them by word of mouth as well as through successful implementations.

The marriage of microlending and social media works two ways. First it allows a disparate group of people, perhaps the entrepreneurs, to communicate and become organized. Secondly, it allows them to reach out and relay their message with the larger world. Microlending organizations have latched on to this, leveraging technology to make sure potential lenders can put a face to recipients’ stories. Perhaps these personal bonds originate from the Grameen Bank, which began lending funds on the basis of trust and used peer pressure to insure the loans were repaid. Or, perhaps microlenders online use interpersonal connections as a bulwark against compassion fatigue.

Here’s an example of the personal touch from an interview in the blog China Philanthropy with Casey Wilson, the co-founder of Wokai, a microfinance site that has been called the Facebook for Farmers. Here Wilson relates a positive experience she's witnessed from microfinance.

On a micro level—one of my favorites is this woman from Sichuan who is 24 years old. When she was 18 she and her husband got married and were basically put into indentured servitude. His family put them in debt for living with them so they worked I the city for 4 years to pay off the debt and she was able to save up a little money when they moved back to Sichuan to start up a duck industry.
She bought a number of ducks. She started the business, and then 3 months in all of her ducks died. It turns out, at the same time she found out about our field partner. She went to them and got support and money to restart her duck business. I’m so impressed with her A—That she is so young and persevered through so much adversity and B—looking to see where she is with microfinance and where she would be without it. If our partner had not been there to help her she would have been left with nothing, her only options would have been to go back to the city, and she would never had the tools to lift herself from poverty. Stories like that are really inspiring to me.

The new French site Babyloan works on much the same manner as Kiva and Wokai, linking donors to entrepreneurs. But it is the first site to specifically target European donors.

It also has visions of building a social community. The Traveling Spouse, a blogger based mostly in France, reports:

Babyloan are hoping to develop the site into a social community, so that lenders can meet others and share experiences, even electing representatives to the board of directors.

By the reaction to this site, it has struck a chord with more than a few bloggers.

From Emmanuel Brunet, who lives and blogs in Paris.

Moi j'ai sélectionné Asfandiyor, Nishon, Gulchehra et Oygul, mes nouveaux amis du Tadjikistan.
Ils cherchaient 810 euros sur 9 mois pour acheter du bétail et ainsi produire du fromage, de la viande et probablement faciliter les activités agricoles. Dans 9 mois, ils nous remboursent les sommes données, sans taux d'intêret. C'est simple, ce n'est pas contraignant puisque l'argent n'est jamais perdu et ça donne un vrai coup de pouce.
L'argent remboursé pourra alors être injecté dans d'autres projets ou vous être rendu directement.
En quelques jours, les amis du Tadjikistan ont trouvé les 810 euros nécessaires à l'achat de bétail, grâce à d'autres participants de France et de Suisse.

C'est peut-être ça le développement (monétaire) durable… !

From the blog Les Enfants du Web.

L’intérêt est bien évidemment de suivre l’avancée du projet. Et on se dit qu’avec se genre de service notre argent arrive effectivement au destinataire…

J’ai donc décidé d’aider le projet de Chanthol Vorn, une cambodgienne qui veut développer sa petite épicerie ! Je contribue à hauteur de 20€ sur les 210€ nécessaire.

Je trouve le concept hyper intéressant mais le site en lui-même mériterait une interface un peu plus sympa. Que se soit au niveau des graphismes et de l’ergonomie, une version 2 n’est vraiment pas du luxe.

From Domi, who blogs at Mood-for:

Mmes Houessou et Gandaho veulent monter une petite boutique à Cotonou au Bénin pour nourrir leurs 4 enfants correctement. Elles ont déjà 340 euros sur les 460 dont elles ont besoin pour l’ouverture de la boutique. Je leur en ai prêté 30 et elles me le rendront dans 10 mois car, le saviez vous, les utilisateurs du micro-crédit remboursent mieux que la plupart des emprunteurs… Mes 30 euros, je pourrai ainsi les prêter à d’autres bientôt. C’est simple et efficace, c’est le micro-crédit à portée de chacun d’entre nous. Ca nous permet d’être utile.

The sites for Kiva, Wokai and Babyloan are full of functionality, great graphics and heart-warming photos. A participant in these projects cannot help but feeling part of a community. Interfaces also make sure the loan-making transparent. With all the technology supporting these sites, however, one blogger wonders whether these schemes will pass the sustainability test that often separates good development project from just good ideas.

David Costa, who blogs at Microfinance.fm out of Zürich, Switzerland:

my primary interest is looking at microfinance as an investment opportunity too and not as a donation.
Even in the case of Kiva the borrower has to pay interests but, at least, unless there is a default, the investor can re-use his capital or withdrawn it.
I am sure that donation and grants to not for profit institution like Wokai are important but from an investment standpoint these are not as scalable.
In the case of kiva there are more options: you can lend 4000$ and receive, if needed, part or all your investment back. In the case of wokai I can only donate
to their organisation – how they use the money is not really important from an investor standpoint. It is really not an investment.

Presidential elections in Gabon were mired with accusations of fraud as Ali Bongo, son of recently-deceased president, Omar Bongo, was declared the victor. Post-electoral violence lead to the torching of French consulate in Port-Gentil, a city that also hosts the offices of French oil company Total.

In Madagascar, promising peace talks initiated in Maputo by an international mediation group eventually fizzled and today, protests were violently repressed by the transitional government. In the capital, Antananarivo, a few protesters were seen harassing vazaha ( foreigners) near hotel Glacier as military forces repressed protests against the formation of a government that did not include all the political groups as was agreed during the Maputo peace talks.

And in Mauritania, General Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, who took over after a coup d' etat a year ago, saw his power legitimized in an election that his opponents consider as potentially fraudulent. Yet Mauritanians wonder why France was one of the first nations to recognize (fr) the outcome of the elections.

The notion of Francafrique is such a widely accepted concept that in January 2008, former French Secretary of State for Overseas Development, Jean-Marie Bockel, stated that he was willing to “sign the death certificate of Françafrique”

The cozy living conditions that African leaders enjoy in France has been well-documented. The map of real estate properties in Paris of family of African dictators published by Rue89 is a telling evidence that France's effort to distance themselves from dictators is more words than action. The NGO cellule Francafrique lists details of evidences supporting the Francafrique concept with reports and photos on flickr.

For instance, Malagasy and French blogs were quick to point out that French Ambassador Chataignier was the first foreign officer to meet with Rajoelina the day after the coup d'etat in Madagascar. Malagasy blogger NJ links to the following video that aims to explain how Francafrique works in Madagascar:

A reason bloggers often cite for France's involvement in Madagascar is the potential for oil farming in the region of Bemolanga. Total has acquired 60% ownership of the Basin and is expected to produce 180,000 barrels of oil per day for more than 30 years. Reuters reports that the reserve of Tsimiroro could produce 1.7 billions barrels.

The enduring resentment towards France's actions for what is perceived, rightfully or not, as deleterious mingling into Africa's own development has sometimes taken violent proportions.

However, one Malagasy blogger Vony offers an alternative to anger towards French citizen in reaction to Francafrique. Vony writes in an open letter to French citizens in Madagascar (fr):

On dit que vous, Français, venez du pays des droits de l’Homme

Mais on sait aussi que vous vivez désormais dans un pays où la terreur règne,
Parce que Madagascar est aussi une partie de votre histoire, nous vous demandons
solennellement de nous soutenir et nous aider à retrouver notre dignité de
Malgaches et notre fierté de vivre sur cette île [..] Nous Malgaches au pays, en France et à l’étranger faisons appel à votre solidarité envers votre peuple ami et à votre foi en la démocratie et le respect des droits de l’Homme.
Parce que vous êtes aussi menacés par l’avenir sombre et désastreux qui nous guettent tous, , ne détournez pas les yeux mais tendez nous la main pour mieux dénoncer ce que vous ne toléreriez pas dans votre propre pays!

Tahina writes about yesterday's violence and how it brought back traumatic memories:

My bus line passes through the 13 Mai Square, a hot spot if not the hottest after the Ambohijatovo Park. And this logical question asked to the conducteur before getting on the bus “Do you go till Analakely?”, “Yes, Sir.” Along the street you pay attention to any abnormal things, people gathering at one place, suspicious traffic, you to stretch your ears to over hear others’ conversations. You take out your mobile and try to call someone who’s supposed to be downtown to know if he’s safe and ask him what he’s witnessed. All of that recalls me bad things. Things that I’m likely to live again in the days to come.

In Gabon, Malagasy blogger Harinjaka, who is currently based in Libreville, writes about potential evidence of fraud that led to Ali Bongo's victory:

of the cards featured in the image above, the one on the left is authentic, while the one on the right has been forged. The difference is quite clear - the one on the left has been stamped after the photo was attached, whereas the photo on the right was not stamped with the card, meaning that the photo can be changed - so that several people can vote with the same electoral card.

Here is a video of a Gabonese woman accuses France of being directly responsible for Bongo's fraudulent election (fr):

Such statements have often been dismissed in the West as nothing more than conspiracy theories. Unfortunately, the recent turmoils in Gabon, Mauritania and Madagascar have made Francafrique feel very real to African bloggers and citizens.

Sticking to the U.S. and French blogospheres, is it possible to somehow bridge the gap of comprehension laïcité has generated between both sides of the Atlantic Ocean?

Arthur Goldhammer, drawing a parallel between the burqa and the catholic nuns' cloth, warns against being a “zealot of laïcité” :

(…) Not everyone in the ambient society accepts these tenets of faith, but the symbol embodying them is nevertheless not banned from the streets. It is banned from the schools. Traditionally, laïcité meant exactly this kind of drawing of boundaries.

Some French bloggers, concerned by the attacks, not only religious but also political, that they feel are threatening laïcité in France, endeavored to explain the notion, and to make clear that it is a requirement for democracy and human rights.

In a may, 2009 post hosted by lemonde.fr website, Bartolomeo of librepropos [Fr] had this definition :

laïcité: La Laïcité combat tous les cléricalismes c’est à dire toute intrusion du fait religieux, de la croyance dans les institutions publiques de la République.

The historical background

The concept of laïcité first appeared with the French Revolution, and was institutionalized with the “1905 law” [of Separation of the Church and the State]. The clash with the Catholic Church finally died down, each side finding at long last its interest in the new relationship.

Dans ce concept de laïcité ouverte des années 1990, ce droit à la différence se transforma petit à petit en “une différence de droits” . L’islam absent de ce débat apparaît alors à travers l’affaire du foulard de Creil en 1989. […]

A foundation of the Republic

[La laïcité est inscrite à l'article 1 de la Constitution] “La France est une République indivisible, laïque, démocratique et sociale. Elle assure l’égalité devant la loi de tous les citoyens sans distinction d’origine, de race ou de religion. Elle respecte toutes les croyances. […]”

But it originates with the Enlightenment and the Aug. 26, 1789 Declaration of the Right of Man and of the Citizen.

Content of laïcité, in 4 points

Vivre ensemble: […] A chacun de vivre librement ses options spirituelles ou convictions philosophiques. - A tous de disposer d’un espace commun, public, assurant liberté et égalité. - mais aussi créer un monde commun aux hommes, tout en leur permettant de garder librement leurs différences.

selon 3 principes: Liberté de Conscience - Égalité des Options Spirituelles Universalité de la Loi Commune.

[par le moyen juridique de] la séparation des Églises et de l’État par la loi de 1905 [en distinguant] une Sphère Privée et une Sphère Publique

L'Ecole Laïque [en est l'outil basique pédagogique].

Franco-Ivorian Delugio, on his blog “Une vingtaine”! et quelques, explains the difference between American secularity and French laïcité :

Dans sa structure moderne, la racine immédiate de la démocratie peut se trouver dans le protestantisme américain, s’organisant pour un « vivre ensemble » au-delà de la pluralité des Églises — pour une gestion partagée de la cité commune.
Cela ne se fera pas sans heurts : ça commencera par la guerre d’indépendance pour aboutir au XXe siècle — mais dès le départ, pour les indépendantistes, la dimension de la séparation des Églises et de l’État est un acquis non négociable.
Lorsque la France révolutionnaire reprendra ce modèle américain, elle se heurtera à une Église, l’Église catholique, prétendant, contrairement aux Églises protestantes américaines, à l’unicité.
C’est ce choc qui caractérise la « laïcité à la française » : laïcité de type américain dans un contexte de combat contre une Église revendiquant le pouvoir d’une façon ou d’une autre.

He then assesses the chances and obstacles, for Islam, on this same road to laïcité, which he views as desirable and historically necessary, and he thinks that France has a specific part to play in the process :

La France est en position, de par son histoire, de mener ce combat qu’elle a déjà mené en métropole face au catholicisme.

Mais le combat sera rendu plus difficile encore par ce que dans son empire colonial, la France a fait exactement l’inverse de ce qu’elle a proclamé et de ce qu’elle a fait en métropole : elle a, à l'instar des autres puissances coloniales, consacré dans l’empire colonial des lois particulières, y compris la charia, comme vis-à-vis de la République.

And what if, beyond all these big principles the French love to ride as their hobby-horse, they drew inspiration, as suggested by MRT, from their Belgian neighbors' pragmatism, addressing the burqa issue with a mere law on security :

En Belgique et au Luxembourg, c’est tout simple : pas de ségrégation religieuse, mais une simple loi sur la sécurité afin que les personnes mal intentionnées ne déjouent pas les caméras de surveillance.
Voici le texte de loi voté en 2005:
“Sans autorisation de l’autorité compétente, il est interdit sur le domaine public de se dissimuler le visage par des grimages, le port d’un masque ou tout autre moyen, à l’exception du “temps du carnaval”.

Moon by Voobie on Flickr

Al-Kanz is an online information website that deals with Muslim consumers' issues in France. The website notices [Fr] that unlike previous years, France's big distribution labels have chosen to publicly specify their target consumers. In France there is pusillanimity attached to the slightest mention of religious communities, which has to do with a certain reading of laïcité, whereby the media, political parties and businesses, avoid targeting specific religious groups for fear of being accused of Communitarianism:

Si, il y a quelques jours, nous déplorions la frilosité répétée des grands noms de la distribution lorsqu’il s’agit de dire clairement que la cible de leurs opérations commerciales à l’occasion du mois de ramadan n’est autre que celle des consommateurs musulmans, il faut bien avouer que nous avons droit cette année à quelques surprises.

The holy Muslim month of Ramadan is not only a month of austere prayers and fasting, it is, as many bloggers pointed out this week, basically a period of social gatherings and caring for the poor, aiming at transcending social divides and strengthening family ties. Algerian blogger Adel, quoting al-Watan [Fr] daily newspaper, refers to [Fr] government initiatives to alleviate poverty, intended to coincide with the start of Ramadan, but he deplores widespread mismanagement:

A l’approche du ramadan, le gouvernement s’est penché sur la pauvreté en Algérie. Il a promis de débloquer 3 milliards de dinars (30 millions d’euros) pour assurer les besoins alimentaires de base pour les 1,2 million de familles démunies recensées. Un récent rapport du PNUD fait état de l’augmentation du taux de pauvreté dans le pays, où un Algérien sur trois vivrait au-dessous du seuil de pauvreté […] “Etat riche, peuple pauvre” est le slogan le plus utilisé par l’opposition pour décrire une gestion opaque et inégalitaire des ressources du pays.

Ramadan is undoubtedly a month of frenzied consumerism. Speculators, taking advantage of the surge in demand, usually push commodity prices up. But as Maghreb Info [Fr], an online news website reports, some regional governments are announcing strong measures to ensure supply and price stability:

Le gouvernement marocain annonce des mesures pour l’approvisionnement normal et régulier des marchés, mais aussi pour lutter contre la spéculation. Les autorités marocaines soulignent la nécessité de veiller au respect des prix des produits alimentaires, et annoncent un très net renforcement des contrôles sur tous les points de vente au Maroc.

[L]e ministre [algérien] du commerce annonce avoir recruter 1500 agents de contrôle supplémentaires chargés de débusquer les éventuelles spéculateurs.

During Ramadan every able-bodied Muslim is supposed to observe fasting from dawn until dusk, refrain from smoking or acting in a socially improper manner; or that's the theory at least. Some contend that antisocial behavior tends to increase during the holy month as Tunisian blogger ART.ticuler argues[Ar], referring to a social study published some years earlier. He writes:

وتوصل الدكتور أحمد المجدوب إلى أنّ جرائم السطو المسلح والنشل والسرقة تزيد في شهر رمضان، كذلك تزيد معدلات الجرائم الزوجية كالضرب والإهانة والطرد من المنزل والقتل لأتفه الأسباب خاصة قبل الإفطار أو خلال العشر الأيام الأخيرة من الشهر الكريم

Incidentally, Moroccan blogger Ibn Kafka describes [Fr] how he was assaulted after a meeting he held with blogger friends, gathering in a pure Ramadanesque tradition when people socialize and stay in cafés until late at night. He tells the story:

Nous nous étions rencontré, cinq bloggeurs, pour discuter et passer du temps ensemble après le ftour […] [N]ous avions fini par nous faire éjecter [du café où nous sommes restés] bien au-delà de la fermeture. N’ayant pas terminé la discussion, nous sommes restés près de dix minutes à papoter devant le café, entourés de marchands et badauds. Ainsi que de cinq ou six salopards armés de machetes, transportés sur deux scooters, qui nous avaient repérés […] J’avais ma sacoche avec mon lap-top, et un autre bloggeur un sac-bandoulière où l’on met portefeuille et papiers. C’est nous que les salopards visèrent: l’un d’entre eux, par derrière, tira ma sacoche. Me retournant, je vis un petit type de vingt ans, pantalon et blouson noir, agitant une machete, entouré de comparses, quatre peut-être, deux ou trois avec des machetes. J’ai eu le réflexe de lâcher tout de suite, la sacoche ne contenant que mon laptop, une clé USB et un chargeur pour mon mobile.

Whilst not all Muslims strictly abide by all five tenets of Islam, failing to observe fasting during the holy month is little tolerated. Notwithstanding, some have gone as far as to openly disclose their non observance, like some Moroccan bloggers who decided to create this group [Ar, Fr] for dialog on the social networking website Facebook.

A novel and arguably progressive initiative that apparently Jalal Aaouita, a commenter amongst others, is not prepared to accept. He writes:

Beyond the controversy, the profusion of blog posts during this week suggests that blogging and social networking on the Internet have become part and parcel of social activities during Ramadan along with dedicated viewing of soap operas on TV, compulsive shopping and… prayers.

A few weeks after stating, in the middle of his solemn address to the French Congress of MPs and Senators, that «the burqa is not welcome on the territory of the French Republic», an «information panel» was formed by a group of majority and opposition MPs, to draw up an inventory of the situation, with six months' time to give their report. Meanwhile, police intelligence counted 367 women wearing burqas in France, the accuracy of which has left some skeptical and others snickering.

Feelings appear ready to heat up as they did with the ban on the headscarf from schools in 2004. French media and the blogosphere are abuzz again, all the more so as some draw a parallel between France's apparent intention of banning the burqa, and the flogging and pending trial of several Sudanese women, among them a journalist and UN employee, for wearing trousers under their islamic veil.

Indian blogger savadati explains what is at stake for Muslim women, in her post “We love Islam so we wear burqas” :

The burqa (and the hijab, the niqab, the chador) is possibly the most controversial garment in this century. It has been used on the one hand by fundamentalist power-seeking groups like the Taliban to attain their own end, through the suppression of women. Women have been handed grisly punishments – physical and even sexual – for refusing to wear it. It was turned, in Afghanistan, into a weapon of suppression. Being forced to wear a tent-like garment at all times, for fear of being labelled a “seductress” and subjected to indignity and punishment, is a blatant breach of human rights, and feminist and other activists all over the world have opposed this. In France, the group Ni Putes, Ni Soumises (Neither Whores nor Submissive) is strong in its condemnation of the burqa. They call it a “prison under open skies” for those who wear it, and deem it an instrument to force women into submission.

On the other hand, however, a lot of women in Europe, India and West Asia have found their cultural identity in the folds of this robe-like garment. They choose to wear it because it gives them a sense of comfort and religious belonging. They are not forced and simply choose to dress this way.
(…)

She concludes :

Women who choose to wear the burqa are choosing to belong – not to feel alienated. However, if the stigma and the stereotype are allowed to blindly thrive too long, they may indeed start to feel alienated in a society where they are looked upon as mysterious black-robed creatures, to be pitied and handled with care. Burqa bans will only end up doing this, besides driving the women who wear the burqa only reluctantly, back into their homes, depriving them of any freedom they may have had.

To which oukti asma echoes with a comprehensive “clarification” [Fr], coming to the conclusion that:

Le voile intégral est un réflexe identitaire, très minoritaire des musulmans de France.
Les parlementaires n'ont donc pas à se mêler de cette affaire, car celui-ci est et restera très marginale en France.
C'est aux musulmans d'expliquer à cette petite frange de la communauté, les aspects que nous avons cités ( des origines non-islamiques, les inconvéniants liés, la compatibilté de l'acsèse avec le monde actuel)
Je rajouterai qu'il ne faut pas prendre les membres de la communauté musulmane pour des abrutis. Et je m'adresse tant au non-musulmans qu'aux musulmans.
Les musulmans en France sont instruits, et savent majoritairement faire la part des choses. (…)

However, mainstream media, such as Le Monde, published op-eds of varying opinion.  French writer Pierrette Fleutiaux's ironic-–or all-too serious-–text entitled “Man's dignity requires him to wear the burqa” was re-posted by at least a dozen blogs. She carefully and wittily turns every argument for this piece of clothing on its male supporters [Fr].

Repoussons cette croyance absurde qu'il faudrait voiler les femmes pour que les hommes ne soient pas portés à désirer celles d'autrui. Une telle croyance est mécréante : elle accrédite l'idée que l'homme a été créé libidineux, violeur par nature et faible devant ses désirs. Et que, devant toute femme passant sous ses yeux, s'éveille aussitôt en lui la pulsion de lui sauter sur le râble pour consommer l'oeuvre de chair. L'homme a en lui la force de l'âme et le respect naturel de l'ordre divin. L'homme n'a rien à craindre des misérables appâts de la femme.

Que la femme aille dans la rue dans les atours aguicheurs qu'elle ne manquera pas de se choisir. Son regard s'épuisera sur les autres femmes, elle y verra comme dans un miroir sa propre indécence, sa futilité même la détournera de toute compétition malsaine avec l'homme. Quant à cette exposition de la féminité, elle ne saurait nuire à l'homme. Il s'y verra conforté dans son incontestable supériorité. Il saura, dans les autres burqas, reconnaître les hommes pieux et respectueux de la loi, et ainsi renforcera nécessairement la belle et indispensable communauté masculine.

Researcher Farhad Khosrokhavar, from EHESS, worries that a ban might actually end up bolstering the more fundamentalist groups of Islam in France. His article can be read here [Fr].

Whatever the arguments, the debate was renewed on Sunday when news came that Lubna Ahmed Al-Hussein, a young Sudanese journalist working for the UN Mission in Sudan (Unmis), had been arrested, along with a dozen fellow countrywomen, some of them from non-Muslim south Sudan, during a party at a Khartoum restaurant for wearing trousers under their Islamic veil. Most of were released after a flogging; three are being taken to court and face a sentence of 40 lashes and a fine.  Loubna Ahmed Al-Hussein denied the diplomatic immunity she is entitled to as a UN worker, saying that she wants the trial to go to its end. Arab human rights activists, as well as some journalists, think the Sudanese regime «wants to smash a free pen», as she used to write a column in a non-governmental newspaper.

Some French bloggers did not fail to draw a parallel with the burqa issue.

Rimbus blog focuses on the necessary reciprocity of tolerance [Fr]:

Mais sur le fond, il s'agit de la même chose. Le pays occidental veut condamner l'expression d'une pensée qu'il combat, la dictature musulmane condamne l'expression du mode de vie occidental.

La seule position honorable pour la France serait de tolérer officiellement ces 400 femmes voilées intégralement, au nom de la liberté de pensée, et fort de ce principe, condamner vigoureusement l'attitude de Khartoum, par voie diplomatique et officielle. Dans le cas contraire, nous ne pourrions qu'accepter une réaction du pouvoir soudanais, comparable à la notre.

Il faut soutenir la journaliste soudanaise Loubna Ahmed al-Hussein, et laisser les femmes s'habiller librement, en mini-jupe comme en niqab, en garçon si elles le souhaitent.

Allain Jules, writing on collective blogging website agoravox, is more scathing and wonders why the case did not draw more attention [Fr]:

La journaliste indique qu’elle en a assez du silence des femmes de son pays qui se laissent flageller pour rien. Ainsi, elle a déclaré : « Des milliers de femmes sont châtiées à coups de fouet mais elles restent silencieuses. La loi est utilisée pour harceler les femmes et je veux dénoncer cela ». Courageuse, elle est donc prête à subir ce châtiment. (…) Il est d’ailleurs étonnant de ne pas voir les défenseurs des droits de l’homme se lancer à corps perdu dans ce combat pour les droits des femmes. Mais où sont-ils passés ? Sont-ils plus préoccupés par leurs petits intérêts et trouvent ridicule le combat de cette femme courage ?

Most recently, French President Nicholas Sarkozy proposed a ban on the burqa. His proposal follows a 2004 French law banning hijab from schools.

Bloggers around the world across the spectrum of belief have been speaking out about Sarkozy's decision. At KABOBfest, Canadian Sana writes:

By targeting how a small number of French women choose to assert and represent their sexuality, France is missing the real sources of the problem as well as implying that its foundation is perhaps far less stable than what it would like the world and its own citizenry to think. It is now time for France not to shed the various components of its identity, but rather to approach those very pieces with a broader outlook. Its minority population has been willing to adapt for decades, but can France accept minimal equity as a basis for greater equality as we have done so here in North America?

The blogger concludes with:

Mr. Sarkozy, your efforts may be sincere; you are, after all, only trying to protect the criteria for what makes one“French” enough. Remember, however, that in your attempt to free woman from her draping chains, you restrict her sexuality, her own sense of her individualism and her being to the confines of your harem by dictating the dance she must do and the garments she must wear to please you.

Algerian-American blogger The Moor Next Door echoes a similar sentiment. Arguing that Sarkozy's proposal is “bigotry dressed as gallantry,” he states:

The trouble the French may want to worry about is not the burqa as it is worn in France today, but that such a ban, as the headscarf ban has done, will make the garment a greater symbol of Muslim identity and sign of cultural defiance. France has done a good job at finding ways of alienating racial and religious minorities. Indeed, among Western nations it is a leader in this field. This is a quality that does little to further the assimilationist cause the French so actively pursue, though. The proposition comes with other baggage, too. The concern (posed by the Economist piece) that this proposed ban would be might be “misunderstood abroad,” seems foolish. What is to be misunderstood? It is precisely an effort to limit the expression of religion, Islam especially in this case, and follows from the same motivations as the earlier headscarf ban.

Farah, writing for the group blog Nuseiba, presents an excellent roundup of Australian opinions on the matter, noting:

A lot of writers (including Posetti and Hussein) against a ban point out that a number of women actively choose to wear the burqa or niqab. While the burqa has been used by groups to subjugate women, these writers highlight the need to identify the agency of these Muslim women, rather than denying them that agency which a ban would do.

Faith-based blogger Tracy Simmons, from the United States, sees the issue as a simple one. Asking Sarkozy not to strip women of their dignity, she pleads:

I don’t think people realize that wearing the burqa is a choice for many Islam women. And because it’s a choice, they shouldn’t be forced by a government NOT to wear it.

Of course, not all bloggers are opposed to Sarkozy's ban. Popular Egyptian blogger and columnist Mona Eltahawy, who famously took off her own headscarf a few years ago (an experience which she has written about on her blog) wrote an op-ed for The New York Times in which she stated that, as a woman and a Muslim, she was opposed to the burqa being worn anywhere.

One U.S.-based blogger, Anne of Carversville, expresses her support for Eltahawy by saying:

I’m sensitive to the delicate nature of change in politics, but I have not lived my life to hear in 2009 that I’m offbase, because I believe that burqas debase women, erasing them from society as Eltahawy argues.

In formalizing my position against burqas, I am in no way affronted by the more conservative form of dress chosen by many Muslim women. I am not opposed to head coverings of any kind.

More broadly, the blogger adds:

At the same time, I support and advocate the embracing of life’s sensuality — seeing, hearing, smelling and using all our sensitivity to experience life. This view does not put me in opposition to Muslim culture, which also embraces the deeply sensual nature of life.

I will also accept burqas for women when men are equally compelled to wear them. For both genders to embrace burqas as a sign of respect for their religion (which does not require them in the Koran), then I agree that burqas are a sign of Muslim culture and religious custom.

Eltahawy's column was not without opposition from the blogosphere, however. Sahar, writing for Nuseiba, protests:

…the best way to support Muslim women is to respect their choice in how they express their religion and culture. It is not to impose what we think is good for them. I find it ironic that Eltahawy who claims to be a feminist is ignoring the importance of choice, agency and the lived experiences of these women— which are essential factors in understanding women in feminist analysis.

Nor do we all agree with Eltahawy who, perhaps due to her socially privileged position is detached from the social, political and religious motivations for wearing burqa, and can’t comprehend how it can be a vehicle of success for some or a proud reinforcement of Muslim identity for others. The burqa can be understood as a symbol of the outrage Muslims are feeling as they are exposed to an increasingly xenophobic Europe. It’s symbolic of an attempt to cling on to an identity that is being eroded in a hostile environment. I write this piece now after just reading about an Egyptian woman who was stabbed in a German court 18 times by the man she was suing for harassing her for wearing a headscarf. It is not the burqa alone that is being undermined and discredited but Islamic dress entirely. Therefore, the call to remove the burqa cannot be devoid of such a context and for Eltahawy to think that divorcing her criticism from such a context as viable is politically naïve.

Though it remains to be seen whether or not France will implement a ban on the burqa, one thing is certain: this is a very polarizing topic around the world.