Angers, just at the pass mark for its involvement against racism

Itinerary of Angers migrants

Economy, qualitity of life, education, among the numerous rankings between cities, the last one which includes Angers is about racism. That survey, realized by the Conseil représentatif des associations noires (Cran), classifies the city at the 18th position out of fifty French towns. "Which cities are in France most involved against racism? Is my city at the cutting edge of progress or, at the opposite, is it the latest one? Does it deserve an AAA or a dunce's cap? What are the good pratices to fight racism? What should be the public policies to implement in cities and estates?" are some of the questions the Cran wants to give answers.

The context should be sensitive for Angers after, a few weeks ago, racist insults were uttered in Angers to Christiane Taubira, justice minister ad the tree of secularism cut down, two events followed by a public demonstration in Angers streets with several candidates to municipal elections. That led the mayor to write her a letter of apology after the case got a national impact, eluding what the city had already implemented towards "diversity promotion, fight against discriminations and for equality" through the Council for the citizenship of foreign Angevins and an exhibilition two years ago about migrants arrived in Angers.

The council of foreign Angevins Credit pictures Angers city

The cities have been ranked on the basis of a question-naire about their internal policies (human resources and training) and their public policies (economy, cuture, education, safety, etc). But the answers of the cities are not the only component of the ranking. Results of surveys led by the Cran are also taken in account (the balancing between these two categories of datas is not detailed). Angers sums up 52 points out of 100 and its note is C. The worst total is 10 (Marseille) and the best 79 (Villeurbanne) while the average is 42. Eighteen towns got the pass mark and Angers is the last.

A few measures are proposed by the Cran : a visible and tangible involvment of the mayors, the appointment of a deputy mayor in charge of discriminations and a better relationship with the associations. In Angers, the mayor will soon plant a new tree as symbol of secularism.