Thursday, June 24, 2010

The Modern Battle for Paris: Sausages, Wine and a Working Class Neighborhood

During World War II, when France was occupied by the Nazis, Parisians found ways to resist.  Today France is again undergoing a foreign occupation, and Parisians are forming strategies of resistance.

The occupation today is from Muslim immigrants, who are aggressively foisting their culture and customs onto an unwilling host.  The central battle is around a working class neighborhood called "La Goutte d'Or," translated as "the drop of gold."  The term was originally in reference to a white wine from ancient vineyards.

Today La Goutte d'Or is largely occupied by Muslim immigrants of African and Arabic origins.  Many of these immigrants are illegal.  Most are not loyal to France and are hostile to its language, culture and customs.  Every Friday in the Goutte d'Or, thousands of Muslims illegally fill the streets to pray (see photo), blocking traffic and commerce.  Shopkeepers are unable to open their stores and conduct business.  This activity is not just about praying.  It is cultural aggression, an assertion of Islamic superiority over the streets and neighborhoods of France.

Many French are alarmed and believe that the "Islamization" of France is well underway.  One of the ways they are fighting back is to stage large block parties in Paris on Fridays, where "salami and booze" are served and consumed. Both foods are traditional to France but forbidden and repulsive to Muslims.

Does this annoy and irritate the Muslim interlopers?  Too bad.  If the Muslims of Paris want to get "in your face" about their religion, the Parisians will get right back in the faces of the Muslims with the preservation of their own cuisine, culture and customs.  It's a way of saying, "We French are here to stay and will not be displaced."

The French term for these finger-food outings is "Apéro-Géant," roughly translated as "Giant Aperitif."  (Apéro means a drink served before meals, accompanied by appetizers or finger foods.)

Unfortunately, a planned "Apéro-Géant" in the Goutte d'Or was prohibited by French authorities, who feared a confrontation between Muslims and non-Muslims.  On June 18, the pro-French protestors moved the party to a new venue, one more symbolic of France, at the Place de l'Etoile, near the Arc de Triomphe.  This area is historically significant. It was here, on November 11, 1940, that university students assembled to protest the Nazi occupation.  Many were arrested and imprisoned, but they sparked the Parisian resistance.

According to the Blog Bloc Identitaire, This gathering was intended to commemorate 70th anniversary of General De Gaulle's call for French resistance to its Nazi occupiers.  More than 800 Parisians showed up for the event, intent on making themselves heard in their refusal to accept the Islamization of France.  Speeches were made, the French national anthem was sung, French flags were waved, wine was poured, salami was eaten, flares were fired to ward off the dark of early evening.

In spite of the French left's usual cries of "racism," the event was considered a large success by its organizers, gathering much media attention and scoring a win in the battle of public opinion.

Bloc Identitaire summarizes the event as follows:
The aggressive proselytism of Islam is symbolised by the illegal occupation of public space in the Goutte d'Or for Muslim prayers on Fridays.  Even though denounced for years with no effect, Muslim aggressiveness was fully unmasked on this important day. 
This opposition [to Islamization] is today recognized as a just cause.  The French people have been exasperated by the daily denial of their identity, their roots, and even their culinary and festive traditions.  This has been a direct result of the demands of an Islam for which "multicultural" France is to be considered conquered territory.  French voices have now been liberated in the media, the internet and the streets, and at last have been heard.
Wine and sausages seem a delicious but mild way of fighting back.  However, it's a start.

Note:  some links and photo credits are provided by the blog Bivouac-ID.  See all of their videos and photos of the June 18 event here.

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