The Children of the Republic

The past couple of weeks saw the mighty French republic brought to its knees by little more than a mob of angry teenagers. In characteristically French style, President Jacques Chirac hopelessly tried to reassure his countrymen with lofty rhetoric: “Whatever our origins, we are all the children of the Republic, and we can all expect the same rights.”

But the truth is that President Chirac’s “children of the republic” are not much different than your average everyday teenager—spoiled, angry, and looking for someone to blame. What makes French-Arab youths particularly annoyed is that they live in a society that preaches entitlement and equality. But instead, they face the tough reality of widespread discrimination and a poorly-performing economy, held down by powerful unions and nationalistic sentiments that oppose French integration into a more competitive and freer EU market.

In terms of GDP per capita, France is in the bottom half of Western European economies. According to official U.S. and European economic statistics, out of 50 American states, France’s GDP per capita outperformed only Arkansas, Montana, West Virginia, and Mississippi in 2001. A recent Swedish report calculated that if the U.S. economy had been frozen in 2000, it would take France an extra 15 years of growth to catch up to the American standard.

At the core of France’s lacking economic performance are a high tax burden, a large public service sector, and a rigid economy that is held down by powerful unions and restrictive legislation. Together, the distorted incentives produced by such a system account for the fact that the total number of work hours is only one half of what it would have been if all working-age French were employed. In contrast the labor supply ratio in the U.S. is 20 percent higher, indicating the sharp advantage the American economy has when it comes to its worker productivity.

The violence that started in the French suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois and spread to over 30 towns and cities has led the French government to temporarily impose a curfew and ban public gatherings. After weeks of rioting in the French Arab and African communities, the situation appears to have calmed down. But the calm is illusory, as the main underlying causes of the riots will most likely remain unaddressed.

When economic growth slows down and powerful unions restrict access to low-skilled jobs, the groups in society most likely to get hurt are the poor and the marginalized. By refusing to recognize religious and ethnic diversity as an integral party of the new French nation, the government has only helped establish an atmosphere of distrust and fear. Instead of broadening economic opportunities, the French leadership has dragged its feet on economic reform and failed to broaden and deepen the common political and economic union across the continent.

In the light of 9/11, there is a tendency to see the French riots as a particular manifestation of the “Muslim problem.” But to do so would fail to appreciate the economic and social problems that all Western, developed countries face today. The African and Arab immigrants in France are its largest immigrant community, on which France today crucially depends to supply low-skilled labor at the time when its population growth continues to dwindle and its population continues to age.

In contrast to France, the U.S. has over the years proved enormously successful in promoting long-run integration of immigrants into the American society and economy. In contrast to Arab-French immigrants, the Latino immigrants in the U.S. experience a wider range of economic opportunities that serve as powerful attractors, promising economic rewards regardless of one’s country of origin, ethnicity, or race.

Unfortunately, the American immigrant experience also has its own share of hardships, as new immigrants in many places face institutionalized discrimination, poverty, and even a lack of certain political rights. However, the reason why the U.S. continues to draw waves of immigration is the very same reason why immigrants in the U.S. ultimately succeed in earning their political rights and economic prosperity.

At the core of American immigrants’ success is a free market economy, which values productivity, innovation, and fair competition. In contrast, the same forces that hurt the French economy today also hurt the most vulnerable of its citizens—the immigrants, who are excluded economically, socially, and politically. President Chirac’s plans to expand public spending and create even more rigidities in an attempt to help the disenfranchised are likely to backfire. Ultimately, it is a free and prosperous economy that creates jobs for those needing them most; the best thing the French government can do is implement economic reforms to promote growth and economic expansion.



Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin summed up the political salience of the French Arab riots for his country in one simple line: “The republic is at a moment of truth.” In many ways, he may have as well been speaking about the American Republic. What the riots in France teach us is that not only French prosperity, but also the future of American prosperity rests on the crucial task of ensuring that our economy grows to lift even the most disadvantaged to fulfill their potential.



Marcus Alexander is a fellow at the Center for Public Leadership at the John F. Kennedy School of Government.