That is very interesting, especially to me as I would prefer the French model when it comes to racial statistics, for emotional reasons and my belief that that these statistics are becoming less relevant as “the races” interbreed with each other in the US and across the globe. Maybe the answer to my questions concerning French labor unions could be known if they collect data on immigrants or naturalized citizens.

yours/
peter

As would I. Trouble is, France does not collect data on racial minorities—they are officially color blind (I don’t believe that has changed since the 2005 riots, which was the last time I researched this in depth). While that seems nice—they consider color blindness a big part of républicanisme, which denies the role of identity politics—it also means they have no official way of addressing racial grievances. Like endemic and pervasive racism or religious bias.

It is an interesting exercise in unintended consequences.

Maybe France could think of a way of to account for and integrate its races instead of just being… well, so French?

I would like to see the ratio of first, second, and third generation immigrants in French labor unions compared to the ratio of the French workforce at large myself.

yours/
peter.

Have to skip the entire rest of ASHC tonight, don’t have time to argue, but thought I should mention. Wow. Super-awesome links.

The foolishness of our approach to Somalia is astounding.