One of the main news stories over the past few weeks has been the issue of France remaining in a state of emergency following the November attacks at the Stade de France and also the Bataclan. In the time since, France has tightened border security, and has deployed heavily armed military patrols throughout the city of Paris. Already extended once, the deadline for the state of emergency to be over is fast approaching, and French Prime Minister Manuel Valls and other officials would like to lengthen the security measures again. Another main news story here is the refugee crisis affecting much of Europe, and how different nations are reacting to the millions of refugees making their way across their respective countries.
While the United States does hear a lot of news concerning the immigrant/refugee situation throughout Europe, the stories concerning the state of emergency are a bit different. As an American who experienced heightened security in the US after 2001, many of the security measures here seem more normal to me than to native French citizens. On any given day, I will see a patrol of French soldiers walking around, and as a result, I feel safe.
Aside from the results of various American Presidential primary elections, the newspapers here do not follow many American news stories. I feel that although France and the United States are two of the most developed countries in the world, citizens of both countries do not really pay attention to news that goes on in other nations. As a result, the Paris newspapers and sites implicitly challenge the US's view of its own international centrality.
However, I do believe French people in general know more about American news and what goes on in the US than those back home at Allegheny, and I believe this is a result of the availability of free newspapers here in Paris which do cover some American stories. Back in Meadville, while there are free New York Times newspapers in various places around campus, I rarely see students of faculty reading them, thus I do believe that people here are more well-informed of what goes on around them than those at Allegheny.
Regarding the armed soldiers you have seen around, I experienced the same thing when I was staying in Belgium. I noticed heightened security in all the major cities that I visited: Bruges, Gent, and Brussels. There is defiantly a new attitude about security in the area. However, in Northern England this presence is greatly decreased.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that sometimes most British people know more about American Politics than I do. When someone talks to me about the Iowa Caucus, I am shocked because I probably couldn't point to Iowa on a map until I came to College haha.