.... They also show a powerful sense of alienation from the rest of French society in Les Izards, a community of 5 000, mostly families who arrived from France's North African former colonies a generation or two ago. Merah spent much of his youth living there with his mother, two brothers and two sisters.
Officially labelled a “sensitive urban zone” due to high rates of poverty, joblessness and criminality, Les Izards offers a window into the urban enclaves where French academics say exclusion is deepening and more grandchildren of North African immigrants are turning to Islam as a form of social protest. [Reuters/Independent Online] Read more
