As of recently and throughout the entire 21st century, there have been several issues that not just France faces, but Europe as a whole faces. The first major issue that Europe has had to face as of recently is the immigration issue. This past year, Europe has had a larger influx of migrants than any other recent year. “At least 350,000 migrants crossed the EU’s borders in January-August 2015, compared with just 280,000 during the whole of 2014.” (Why is EU struggling with migrants and asylum?) This large influx of immigrants is coming mainly from Syria and Afghanistan, as well as Eritrea and some other countries in Africa such as Libya, Sudan, Nigeria, and Somalia. (Why is EU struggling with migrants and asylum?) Immigrants coming from Syria and Afghanistan are fleeing their countries due to the civil war that has broken out in those countries. Citizens of Syria and Afghanistan are looking for a place of refuge where they can lead safe and more comfortable lives. Since Europe is so close for them, it has been the region of choice for these immigrants to travel to.
Immigrants are traveling from Africa to Europe primarily due to human rights abuses in the region. (Why is EU struggling with migrants and asylum?) A lot of the northern countries in Africa are French speaking countries which is why France has had such a large influx of African immigrants recently. The immigrants feel the need to get away from their own country but want to go somewhere that is not too far away where they think they will be able to survive and thrive fairly easily. France somewhat meets this need of the immigrants, but is also a bad choice for the immigrants due to the cost of living and lack of diversity acceptance in the country. The immigrants, mostly the ones from Africa, who travel to France end up living in public housing communities that surround French cities. These living communities are in very bad areas and are very run down and in poor condition. Crime is very high in these areas. As a result of the lack of diversity acceptance in France, there is a lot of violence against immigrants. A law was even passed in 2010 that “prohibits women from wearing face-covering veils in public places.” (Ware)
So although France accepts these immigrants into their country, they do not actually accept them and all their differences. Because of this, riots often break out and civil unrest has spread throughout the suburbs of French cities where these immigrants live. The riots have become so bad before that that the French government had to “declare a state of emergency for three months.” (Leonard) This is an ongoing problem that France has had to face for a fairly long time now, not really for the entire century, but at least a large part of it. This problem has only gotten worse since it started and will, as a result, continue to be a problem for a long time after this year.
Another problem that the EU and resultingly, France, has had to face is a “Euro Crisis” due to the European Union failing to pay off their debt. Debt has been snowballing for years now and has really given the European Union trouble. Greece has been the most negatively affected and has had the most debt, totalling “300 billion Euros- the highest in modern history” in 2009 (Timeline). A Bailout package was offered to Greece in 2010 in an attempt to rescue the country which did help somewhat but they were not the only country suffering a large amount of debt. Since Greece’s crisis, quite a few other countries have fallen into a severe amount of debt making it even harder for the European Union to hold their head above the water. The European Union has met so many different times in an attempt to find a way to raise the countries out of their debt but no one method has proven to be extremely helpful. This problem, although a little less severe than it was at one point in time, still continues to be a problem that the European Union is facing today.
Bibliography
Leonard, B. (2009, February 23). French Face Tough Diversity Challenges . Retrieved November 1, 2015.
Timeline: The unfolding eurozone crisis - BBC News. (2012, June 13). Retrieved November 1, 2015.
Ware, L. (2015, March 17). Muslim Immigrants and the "Other France" Retrieved November 1, 2015.
Why is EU struggling with migrants and asylum? - BBC News. (2015, September 21). Retrieved November 1, 2015.
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