My question, which is in fact your question #2, is actually not a personal question. I had been watching the French news that day and they asked the question to El Jamine Soum. His answer was no.

So. I am sorry if this post offended you. It was just a reflection I heard and I think it is legitimate to post whatever was on the news.

I gave my personal opinion by saying that I hope we have an Obama one day.

Thank you for taking the time to write.
Jackie

Do you mean:

(1) “can a young, fresh politician, unknown just a few years ago, not in the core elite of his party, with a relatively modest social background, be elected” ??

or do you mean

(2) “can a “black” or “coloured” (or whatever other ambivalent term) person elected” ??

If it’s (1), your question is relevant, interesting, and at the core of the french problem.

If it’s (2), your question is irrelevant. If I were a bad guy, I would even notice that your question would in this case be a “racist” one, in the strict sense of the term.

Unfortunately, I know that everybody actually thinks (2) when asking this not-so-smart question.

I’m happy that France is a coloured-blind society.
Even if it’s mocked as pure “theory”, even if social discriminations in the French society may in some cases be favoured by the skin colour.
On the long term I’m sure it will pay.

Affirmative action would lead nowhere. Europe needs other questions and other answers. Let’s talk about social justice, let’s talk about the conflict of generations over here. THESE are the real issues.

Obama’s election is good news.
It’s not a reason to naively focus on his “colour”, not a reason to import US “ethnicism” in Europe, not a reason to stop thinking.