Understanding 'La Contagion': Power, Exclusion and Urban Violence in France and the United States

摘要

Following the Autumn 2005 riots in France, many observers openly asked: 'Why all the fuss? What was so different about the 2005 violence within the French historical context and what made it special in terms of cross-national comparison?' This article argues that the contagiousness of the riots highlighted structural weaknesses in the French integration system that need to be addressed in order to prevent widespread ethnic violence in the future. Through a comparison of citizenship models in France and the United States (US), this article contends that, while the French Republic may formally facilitate ethnic integration, the structure of power within this system actually constructs informal barriers that exacerbate socio-ethnic exclusion and marginalisation.