by Nick Greven
Mehdi Bigaderne is the spokesperson for an organization called AC le Feu, located in a suburb of Paris called Clichy-sous-Bois. The name of the organization is a play-on-words because it actually is an acronym for Association Collective Liberty Equality Fraternity, but it also means “After the Fire.”
The goal of the organization is to help people in the suburbs to gain political power and to this end Bigaderne, who is one of the founders and its communications manager, is a member of the mayor’s staff.
Clichy-sous-Bois is one of the worst suburbs in the Paris metropolitan area in terms of unemployment, education, transportation, and housing degradation. The riots of 2005 were most violent and destructive in this area. It is the only place that we have seen while here that is comparable to the most underprivileged of inner-city areas in the states.
One aspect of our interview with Bigaderne that piqued my interest was his use of the term “revolution” to describe the events of late October and early November 2005. Before coming to Paris, the only word we had heard used was “riots,” which is the word that we have come to associate with those events.
When asked, Bigaderne explained that he says “revolution” because “riot” implies that the events were without purpose and yielded no results. According to him, “riot” is the way the bourgeoisie media portrayed the events and is seen as demeaning by residents of the suburbs, such as Bigaderne, who are working to better their situation and that of their friends.
He believes “revolution” is both a more accurate and more understanding term because the events did yield tangible results, such as organizations like AC le Feu, and they certainly had legitimate purposes
And according to some people to whom we’ve talked, suburban residents like to compare the revolution of 2005 to the French revolution of 1789 because they see it as a continuation of the struggle for equal rights for all human beings.
