Dalle disuguaglianze alle discriminazioni: l’impatto della segregazione

From inequalities to discriminations: the impact of segregation This paper develops a comparative analysis of the riots in the banlieus and the student movement against the CPE (first employment contract) in France. If both movements are based on young people mobilization, not all the dimensions which are important in explaining the riots (social classes, ethnicity and race, generation, space, family structure, gender) are equally pertinent for the student movement. The riots were indeed the expression of relegation and a profound resentment that brought into play both ethno-racial (youth from African immigrant backgrounds, directly concerned by discrimination and racism) and social dimensions (low-income backgrounds). However, the riots did not develop simply on the basis of age and class, but rather they brought into play the urban forms (segregation) of the increasing precariousness of part of the low-income population, particularly those of immigrant origin. Segregation reinforces the interaction and the association between these dimensions, and is a favourable condition for riots because of the concentration in the space of all the characteristics which are perceived as object of discrimination and because of the best control of the territory. This shift, from inequalities to discrimination, is particularly visible in some specific social spheres like political representation, labor market, police, housing, and school. Keywords: Riots; Segregation; Inequalities; Discrimination. 184

Marco Oberti, Dalle disuguaglianze alle discriminazioni: l’impatto della segregazione in "PARTECIPAZIONE E CONFLITTO" 1/2009, pp 147-166, DOI: