Samia Ghali has spent her whole political career waiting for a French election to turn its attention to the lives of her 100,000 poor, mainly Arab constituents. Now, as the presidential election descends into a debate about immigrants and Islam, she is wishing the topic hadn’t come up. “There is an obsession with immigrants in this election,” said Ms. Ghali, one of only three Arab members of France’s senate, “but there’s no talk, even within my own party, of doing anything to help them. All we have is an increase in tension directed at Muslims.”
That’s because the tightly-fought presidential election, with the first round set for April 22, was upended last week when one of France’s young Arabs, Mohammed Merah of Toulouse, murdered seven people, including three Jewish children, in a calculated series of terror acts. In the week since Mr. Merah was killed in a standoff with police, President Nicolas Sarkozy made speeches across the country calling for restrictions on legal immigration, laws to make it illegal to browse Islamist websites or visit training camps, and for tougher policing and more deportations. Read More
