When I first walked into Forum this morning I was afraid the discussion would once again feel like a roundabout where we talk about really interesting ideas but never really see much in the way of progression. I may be wrong, but today I felt like maybe we did make some headway. The topic was national identity, French identity, global identity, and how and why this needs to fit into the contemporary world. France has historically been centralized around one language, culture, and ancestry. They termed this universalism, but this is not to be mistaken with globalism or multiculturalism. France has always been a country of assimilation not integration. Immigration is not a new thing to France, they have been an open door to immigrants for decades now, but never before have they faced such a large percentage of minority immigrants wishing to be French while maintaining their former lives, cultures, and ethnicities. As was discussed today, France has not dealt with this issue for many years and the conditions for these immigrants have been so severely neglected that we are now seeing a retaliation in thinking and even action due to their neglect. The neglect has not come from self-infliction but rather a sub-conscious or maybe even conscious racism towards these immigrant populations living in the suburbs of Paris. The immigrants came to France in search of a new national identity under France, seeking the rich history and even prosperity that came along with French life, yet did not expect to sacrifice their ethnic identity in the process. Jobs are refused, discrimination from the police forces is common, and there is a severe under representation of minority populations in the government. These immigrants are not even necessarily new, but rather second and even third generation immigrants to France who have little or no ties to their original familial origins. Yet, they face a battle currently, centered in Paris, between the old French national identity and a new globalized idea of who France is and who her people are as well. They have for too long been looked at as the "others" as if by neglect they would leave (as Chirac hoped for ten years ago), and now they are calling for change. I do not think (after considering this morning's discussion) that they are calling for radical change to French culture or systems, but rather a place for them amid the system. The people of France must make this change though. Historically only when a severe crisis occurred was a top down approach to cultural change necessary and here I believe once again the best start to make is at the level of the people. The government can be involved and probably should be to restore trust among the people, but the change must first happen in the minds of the people before any legal changes will be worth while. I think this can be achieved, and with much of Europe facing similar problems I think the EU as a body may be able to institute that change if each nation was to help the others. Problems will obviously come up, but I think that the end goal is well worth the struggle.