2. CONTENTS
!! Part A:
!! France in 2005
!! France in 2006
!! France: 2005 v.s. 2006
!! Part B:
!! Singapore in 2009
!! Part C:
!! Preventing the Imagined Future of Singapore
3. PART A – FRANCE IN 2005
!! Civil Unrest
!! October & November
!! Sparked by accidental
deaths of two teenagers
(of Malian and Tunisian
descent) in Paris’s poor
outer suburbs
!! Large African and Arab communities form in the suburbs of Paris
!! Unemployment is higher than the national average
!! Residents complain of racism and discrimination
4. PART A – FRANCE IN 2005
!! Rioters were mostly unemployed teenagers from poor
suburban areas
!! Many rioters were youth of north and west African
descents
!! Born in France but lack a clear place in French society
5. PART A – FRANCE IN 2005
!! Mid-1970s,
!! France's attitude
toward immigration
changed
!! The Maghrebian
immigrants were
thought of as
cultural aliens
!! Impossible to adopt
and therefore a
threat to the
integrity of the
French national
identity
6. PART A – FRANCE IN 2005
!! Riotsin France linked to the
limits of the traditional
French model of
assimilation
!! Stresses adherence to French
cultural norms
!! Government attempted to
link rioting to other
practices
!! Illegal immigration, Muslim
separatism, and polygamous
practices
7. PART A – FRANCE IN 2006
!! Youth Protests
!! February, March & April
!! Unrestwas in response to a
new law
!! The First Employment Contract
!! Perceived to compromise job
security, lower wages, and the
rights of French workers
8. PART A – FRANCE IN 2006
!! The new bill:
!! Allowed employers to fire young employees less than 26 years old
!! Within the first 2 years of employment
!! Without reason
9. PART A – FRANCE IN 2006
!! Purpose of the law:
!! Stimulate job creation as
it is difficult to fire
employees in France after
probation period
!! Makes employers more
keen to take in more
workers
!! However,
!! Youths were unhappy as
it compromised job
security
!! Makes it easier for
employers to exert
pressure on employees
10. PART A – FRANCE IN 2006
!! Caused extensive and violent rioting by youths,
strikes and occupations of French universities
!! Asa result of this public pressure, the government
revoked its youth employment law
11. PART A – 2005 V.S. 2006
!! Discrimination
2005 2006
!! Ethnic minority faced !! Young people faced high
discriminatory acts and unemployment rates, yet
unequal opportunities new law was introduced
compared to !! Age prejudice
contemporary French
people
!! Racial profiling by police
12. PART A – 2005 V.S. 2006
!! Social
2005 2006
!! Riots caused by racial !! Riots caused by high youth
unemployment rates
tension
!! Youths could be pressurized at
work, even by underhand means
!! Social inequity – Higher
unemployment rates among
young immigrants and the ethnic
minority
13. PART A – 2005 V.S. 2006
!! Political
2005 2006
!! Poor treatment of ethnic !! Introduction of unpopular
minority by French bill/law
government
14. PART A – 2005 V.S. 2006
!! Economic factors were similar for both cases
!! High unemployment rates and lack of opportunities
15. PART B – SINGAPORE IN 2009
!! Similar instances of prejudice and discrimination?
!! Muslim schoolgirls not allowed to
wear the traditional Islamic headscarf
to school
!! A government ban was placed on the
garment
!! In an instance, the education ministry
said that the girls had been
"suspended from school and are not
allowed to attend classes unless they
are in the prescribed school uniform”
!! It added that "The wearing of the school uniform is an important
means of building unity among students without distinction of
race, religion, and social status."
16. PART B – SINGAPORE IN 2009
!! Similar instances of prejudice and discrimination?
!! Chinese majority outnumbers the Malay and Indian
communities by three to one
!! Singapore experienced violent race riots in 1964 but has
largely enjoyed ethnic peace since then
17. PART B – SINGAPORE IN 2009
!! Similar instances of prejudice and discrimination?
!! Middle income group pay more income tax, but do not get as
much help as the lower income group (progress packages,
government aid, etc.)
!
!! Widening income gap and lower-income group receive lower
wage increase compared to other income groups
!! The financial divide between the income groups may cause
disharmony
18. PART B – SINGAPORE IN 2009
!! Similar instances of prejudice and discrimination?
!! Singapore has an aging population
!! Government has been encouraging employers to continue
keeping elderly workers
!! Vie for jobs with young people who do not have as much
experience, thus possibly less opportunity for youth
19. PART C – THE IMAGINED FUTURE OF SINGAPORE
!! Year 2061
!! Singapore’s population: 6.1 million
!! 47% born in Singapore
!! The rest are foreign-born citizens/workers/talents
!! Robust economy took a dramatic turn
!! Has been in recession since 2048
!! Tensions rising due to increasing unemployment
!! Protests:
!! Daily protests by local-born unemployed citizens against
cheaper foreign labour
!! Protests against naturalized Singaporeans accused of being
“fair weather” Singaporeans who are not loyal to the country
20. PART C – PREVENTING THE IMAGINED FUTURE
!! Protect the interests of locally born Singaporeans
!! Give incentives for employers to employ local staff – e.g. lower
corporate tax per local staff hired
!! Implement a cap on number of foreign workers per organization
21. PART C – PREVENTING THE IMAGINED FUTURE
!! Continue to provide help to lower-income Singaporeans
!! Create jobs in civil
service for locally born
Singaporeans
!! Allow partial
withdrawal of CPF
funds to tide over the
recession period
22. PART C – PREVENTING THE IMAGINED FUTURE
!! Problems we may face:
!! More Singaporeans migrate overseas to
“better” countries – e.g. China, for more job
opportunities
!! Prolonged recession also means that
government is less able to fork out money to
help
!! Singapore history may repeat itself with
most of its people immigrants and few locals
!! National identity may have to be rebuilt
from scratch
