How are Black Americans living in Paris, France treated?

Question

I am a 57y female intent on moving to Paris, France. what type of reception should I prepare for?

Answer 1

I'm a bi-racial Anglo-Asian and I generally agree with ChocoBN. (I'm 61 so you and I are of the same generation)

Paris was, for most of the 20th century a refuge for people of color from the racism and Jim Crow laws of the American south.  The French lionized Black artists, musicians and intellectuals at a time when their own country treated them as second class citizens.

The French deserve respect for this legacy. Individual people of color can expect, for the most part, to be treated decently and without regard to skin color as ChocoBN says.

But it would be less than candid to suggest that there are no problems with racism in France and there are many undeniable facts which support this.

Indeed, it is arguable that the USA, having gone thru the fire of the Civil Rights struggle, has emerged as a more tolerant and progressive society on race matters than France.

There is, for example,  no politican in France who is the equaivalent of Barak Obama, Indeed, there is no one who is the equivalent of Charlie Rangel, Condi Rice or any of the other highly placed and powerful Black legislators, military men or members of the executive and judicial branchs. President Sarkozy recently appointed the first non-white to a cabinet post of real influence (all previous appointments had been to minor posts).

Turn on the TV in any city in the USA and the local news will have a racially diverse cast of anchors and reporters. In France they will most likely be lily white. It was only a few years ago that the first Black appeared  on the national news. I am not sure if there has been a second.

Moreover, the French government itself has studied this subject and concluded that racism in employment is pervasive and that the security forces routinely exhibit racist tendencies.

I don't say these things to discourage you or to cast aspersions on the French but only in the hope that you approach this move with your eyes wide open.

Answer 2

Skin color is not an issue, only poor behavior could draw negative feelings from the French. Just learn what is considered polite or rude by French standards and you'll be fine.

As long as you know how to respect the local customs you'll be treated very well. Just try to adapt to their way of life instead of expecting them to adapt to you and you'll be treated very well.

My mother is French and white, my black biological dad is from Togo, Africa an my stepdad is  a white American. Even in predominantly white rural France where my maternal grandparents live I was never treated poorly on account on my skin color. Paris is very racially mixed so you won't stand out at all there.

There is only one rule: the French treat you the way you treat them. Like anywhere you will meet the occasional idiot or jerk, just don't take it personally and assume immediately that it is either because you are American or black.

You are lucky to move to Paris. Hope you have a great time there!

EDIT: I agree with what is said by Rillifane as to the lack of presence of minorities in the media although this is changing but I have to add that this can easily be explained without racism being the cause:

- Blacks have been in America for over 3 centuries whereas they have been in France for only a few decades (most French people, even in Paris had never seen a black person until the 60's and there were still very few back then) so it is still a very recent data, it takes some time for minorities to become visible in certain spheres. Look how long it is taking women and they are half of the population! Things don't get achieved overnight.

- Most of the blacks that are in France are not from Guadeloupe or Martinique but they are immigrants from poor African countries where the illiteracy rate is high, so how could they occupy jobs in journalism or other white-collar jobs upon arrival without proper education? Their children receive good education through the French system but their advancement is sometimes hindered by traditions (1. most of Africa is muslim and those coming from rural regions do not value education for girls; 2 the organization of society is so different from the west that some African parents do not know how to raise their children once they are in Europe because their society is completely destructured; some tribal traditions are not compatible with western values and French law: I am thinking of genital mutilations for instance)

- The most massive waves of immigration from the African continent came after the oil crisis, so when unemployment started striking France. This cannot help good integration.

- France has had a desastrous immigration policy in allowing immigrants to come without them speaking any French or knowing anything about French laws. They have also had a desastrous housing project policy where people would be allocated a flat in a certain building based on their citizenship so that the newly arrived Africans only have neighbors from their own country instead of mixing with locals. This was made to help them not feel isolated but it only had the opposite effect as they became isolated from French culture. The French government injects more money in the schools and programs of those neighborhoods than in richer ones as if money was the miracle cure for cultural isolation and a lot of French people feel their tax money goes to waste.

Any tension created by all these factors is clearly cultural rather than purely racial in my opinion.

Yes, there is racial profiling in the police but that's because drug dealing and certain other forms of crime are in 90% of the cases the fact of Black and Arab kids (because of the social destructuration I was talking about), so I mean, if they want to be efficient are they going to search a rural old lady or urban youths living in drug-infested neighborhoods? The majority of Blacks abide by the local laws but when they feel "harrassed" by a racially-profiled police control, should they blame the government or the trouble-causing few that cast a bad reputation upon a whole race? My best friend when I lived in Grenoble was a Tunisian Arab and we shared the same view: we blame those that cause problems, not the cops who try to make life better for the local (predominantly black and Arab) populations who just want to live in peace. We don't believe in victimization, when you behave well, you are generally treated well.

Now that a there are French-born Blacks they will gain little by little (much faster than in the US) more visibility. You will also notice that there is a lot more racial mixing in France than in the US and people don't think twice about it.

So thanks to Rillifane for bringing up issues you should be aware of, it will help you understand the populations of France better but trust me, you will be treated just fine as long as you treat others well, which I am sure you do anyway.

Answer 3

You will see than in Paris almost 35% of the population is black, there is also over 120 differents communities living...this number is superior to NY...black or white people live together and not in separate area like the US or UK

But you should also know that most people here dont really care about what color of skin you have..dont listen to what CNN is telling you it's all but lies.

You are welcome in France.

Answer 4

well, i think the bad point for you is not you're black, but you're american...

well, i'm jokin, you'll have no problem for being black or american. french society doesnt care abt skin color if you're a tourist, specially in paris.

enjoy.