France Celebrates Obama's Big Win

Democrats Abroad, a branch of the Democratic party that operates in over 100 countries worldwide, serves as a base for Americans and those of other nationalities to discuss politics and aid the causes of the Democratic party abroad. Apparently they also throw a sick party.

Last night the group held the "Obama Victory Party" at Palais Maillot in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. Over 1,200 people RSVP'd and the line stretched alongside the Palais de Congres and around the block. Inside, the excitement and anticipation was palpable. American expatriates, study abroad students and our interested French brethren gathered to celebrate, drink 12 Euro glasses of champagne and dance to Rihanna with their necks craned painfully so as to have an eye constantly on CNN.

I keep trying to come up with a word to describe the atmosphere, but I don't think one exists. I had a permanent case of goosebumps. There were more French people than Americans there, which I found interesting and also quite telling. I asked a few of them some questions about why they considered the election so important, and they answered the usual stuff: America is a world super power, the world economy is crashing and the only way it will go back up is if America's economy goes back up, etc.

What I found most interesting in their answers, however, was the intense emphasis on race. Yes, Obama is a black man and he was elected the first African American president. Obviously this is hugely important in both the scope of history and humanity. But I don't think the primary reasons most American Democrats voted for Obama was because he is black; I think his race was in fact just an afterthought. On the contrary, it seemed as if Obama's race was of primary concern to the French, and they thought that he should be elected firstly because he was black, and secondly because he would conduct change. Stephane Blemus, a 22 year old student at Paris University X, works for the France-based group SOS Racisme, known for its work in fighting discrimination. He said he had spent "years dreaming for a black president." For Blemus, and for other liberal French students like him, it was of utmost importance that the world know a black man can be president of a nation as prominent as America.

Having recently studied France's touchy and volatile colonial history with African and Caribbean nations, I asked some people 20-40 years of age if they thought a black person could ever become president in France. The answer was a resounding yes. And, for once, I am proud that it's my country that can set an example for that.

Comments

[johnwcowan]

The last I heard, you have to actually be, like, French to be President of France -- African *Americans* don't qualify.

I suspect the question was really something like "Pensez-vous un noir pourrait être élu président de la France?" ("Do you think a black person (un noir) could ever be President of France?") And it's good to hear the answer "Oui!"

[Stefano]

Barack Obama is the 44th president because he was the better canidate, no other reason than that. The fact that he is biracial or black is meaningless. Of course some people voted for him due to race, other didn't vote for him because of his race. But, he is president today because of his ideas, his depth of knowlege, his ability to convey that knowledge to people. The fact that a majority of Americans could see that is a testament to the people of this country. All to often, our European friends only like to see the ugliness of Americans, and this election can show them that most of us are rising above what divides us. They can no longer concentrate on those of us who are being left behind because of our stubborness to an old idea. Every country has its racists, its bigots, its problems, but we rose above all that yesterday, saw through what divides and finally, at least for a day, were color blind.