Villepin told reporters that jobseekers with foreign-sounding names were not always given equal consideration with applicants with traditional French-sounding names when they presented their resumes. The Catholic Church of France also said that unemployment in some ethnic and religious minorities regions ran as high as 30 percent.
Due to discrimination, many black African youths are demotivated to succeed and have "the feeling of not belonging to the national community," Villepin pointed out.
Amid the crisis that has "provoked fear in souls," French Catholic bishops called for calm and peace. In the statement, they especially highlighted "all the work being done daily by associations and institutions to create bonds of solidarity for a fraternal common existence," according to CNS.
The Mission Populaire Evangelique de France commented that "dialogue, listening and action are possible."
"The urban crisis that we are entering is obviously a spiritual crisis,” it declared. “The true answer is spiritual. For it is time for our country to expand its tent and for foreign fellow citizens to be called by their name [as French].”In face of recent unrest, Eglise Reformee de France (The French Reformed Church) in the Paris region has reaffirmed its conviction of Christian faith and encourages Christians to become "witnesses of peace" in order to curb "hatred and violence," according a statement written in French on its website.
"The good news of the Gospel is a message of hope and life that is offered unconditionally to each man and to each woman by God,” stated Pastor Jean-Charles Tenreiro, President of the Parisian regional council of the Church. “This promise incarnated in Jesus Christ invites us to overcome violence by a mutual recognition beyond our identities, cultures and beliefs.
“Our Christian and civil responsibility is to go pass these intolerances and generalisations, to work on a ground of dialogue and respect in order to build a society where each one can find his place."
Eunice Or
Christian Today Correspondents
