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French protest English colonialists
Les peasants sont revoltinque! See - I could integrate, really je could.Breton villages protested yesterday against an "invasion" of Britons blamed for pushing up property prices and forcing out locals. Around 100 people took to the streets of Bourbriac and called on all "proud French natives" to express their anger at "colonisation". They demanded more low-cost housing, criticised estate agents for "market speculation" and set fire to piles of property magazines. The protest was part of a growing backlash against the increasing number of Britons moving to rural France. It came six months after hostility to settlers erupted with "Brits out" and "Anglais integres, oui. Colons, non!" [Integrated English, yes. Colonisers, no!] slogans daubed on walls in the village near the Armor coast. Bourbriac is now home to about 700 Britons, 100 Germans and Dutch, among a French population of 1,200. Maiwenne Salomon, one of the protest organisers, said the demonstration was not racist or xenophobic. "Our problem is not with the British in general, it's with the people who arrive here, who don't speak French, who don't mix, don't take part in the life of the community and who create Anglo-Saxon ghettos where they keep themselves to themselves," she said. "It's been complete madness over the last few years with foreigners, particularly the Anglo-Saxons, arriving in incredible numbers. "The result of this has been that property prices have rocketed in the whole of Britanny and Bretons themselves can't find anywhere to live, whether it's to rent or to buy." She said that the cost of buying a home had risen by up to 600 per cent. Still talking in francs, rather than euros, Mrs Salomon, added: "You used to be able to buy a small house which needed some work on it for around 50,000 francs [£5,000]. Now it's impossible to find anything - even if it needs completely renovating - for less than 300,000. "This has had a knock-on effect on properties for rent. Even if you could find somewhere, the monthly rent is far too high for most ordinary families to pay. "I've got friends living in caravans because they can't afford to live anywhere else." A census last year showed that about 100,000 Britons live in France. This figure does not include children or those owning holiday homes. Posted by: Bulldog 2005-02-20 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=56927 |