The most intriguing issues are immigration and policy in the greater Middle East (all Arab nations, Iran, Turkey and Israel). They concern not only France but also other countries, especially Russia that is facing similar difficulties.
Traditional ties with the Arab world, historically tangled relations with Israel, Islamophobia and anti-Semitism, claims to a special role in Mid-Eastern settlement, a search for a place in the world arena and one's own identity, and the impact of the domestic political and socio-demographic situation on foreign policy - is this about Russia or France?
In her article "Problems of immigration in France on the eve of the presidential elections" (published on the site of the Institute of the Middle East) Russian political scientist Irina Mokhova writes that French society is rethinking its national identity. France proceeds from a state-nation principle under which to be French a citizen should share republican ideas - his or her ethnic origin or religion do not matter. At least, this was the case up to now.
Formally, France still adheres to this principle, but in reality things are different. A considerable part of the immigrants preserve their ethnic and religious identity and do not integrate into French society. Sarkozy, himself a descendant of immigrants (Hungarians and Greek Jews), wants to determine who can claim to live in France.
Irina Mokhova recalls that in June 2006 the Senate passed a bill on tougher rules for guest workers. The bill was presented by the then minister of the interior Sarkozy. It set a number of new requirements for immigrants. They have to sign an agreement with the state on admission and naturalization and must be fluent in French. Automatic legalization of foreigners after 10 years of residence on French territory was banned. Each application for citizenship was to be reviewed individually and meet certain criteria. One of the decisive factors was how well children of illegal immigrants had absorbed French culture.
Sarkozy's political opponents voted against the bill because it infringed on the rights of immigrants and could escalate xenophobic attitudes in France. They advocated bigger national and European spending on the upkeep of support and adaptation centers for immigrants, and insisted on the return of the right to legalization after 10 years of illegal stay in France.
In any event, French efforts to resolve the immigration problem are of interest for Russia that is faced with a steadily growing flow of immigrants. The Russian government does not have a policy on their integration. It seemed unnecessary since the bulk of the people who came to Russia had been brought up in the same Soviet environment as the Russians. But 15 years after the Soviet Union's disintegration were enough to destroy what its citizens had in common, including the Russian language. Not infrequently, immigrants' children do not speak Russian, or if they do, they are illiterate and find it difficult to study at school. But this is just the tip of an iceberg.
Naturalization is an urgent problem both for Russia and France, and the rest of Europe for that matter. How to integrate new arrivals into society? Are they the only cause of the exacerbating identity problem?
We should not forget, either that the immigration issue is closely linked not only with domestic security, but also with foreign policy.
Some French and other media have labeled Sarkozy an Islamophobe for his attitude to immigrants and refusal to accept the idea of Turkey's EU entry. Incidentally, the Turkish problem is absolutely consonant with the immigration issue. It boils down to the same question of identity, but on the European rather than French plane, and to the same integration problem.
A number of Muslim countries are wary about Sarkozy's Islamophobic image, all the more so considering his Jewish roots and "friendship with Israel." Many fear Paris-Washington rapprochement, which is bound to tell on the situation in the Middle East. But the U.S.-French alliance existed under Jacques Chirac. Paris objected to the war in Iraq, was more reserved on the Iranian issue but teamed up with Washington on Lebanon and Syria.
Chirac's France proceeded from its national interests and there are no grounds to think that the new president will give up on that.
Nevertheless, Sarkozy is faced with the conundrum - how to consolidate the French, parry the challenges of European integration, keep the balance between the Islamic world and Israel and consider the interests of the French Muslim and Jewish communities?
The opinions expressed in this article are the author's and do not necessarily represent those of RIA Novosti.
