First, it was Angela Merkel of Germany. Then it was Britain's David Cameron.
Now French President Nicholas Sarkozy has joined the chorus of European leaders who have pointed out the obvious; multiculturalism has failed.
AFP reports:
French President Nicolas Sarkozy declared Thursday that multiculturalism had failed, joining a growing number of world leaders or ex-leaders who have condemned it. "My answer is clearly yes, it is a failure," he said in a television interview when asked about the policy which advocates that host societies welcome and foster distinct cultural and religious immigrant groups.
"Of course we must all respect differences, but we do not want... a society where communities coexist side by side.
"If you come to France, you accept to melt into a single community, which is the national community, and if you do not want to accept that, you cannot be welcome in France," the right-wing president said.
"The French national community cannot accept a change in its lifestyle, equality between men and women... freedom for little girls to go to school," he said.
"We have been too concerned about the identity of the person who was arriving and not enough about the identity of the country that was receiving him," Sarkozy said in the TFI channel show.
Are such sentiments too late? The backlash against Muslim pressure to stay separate from European cultures has been gathering steam across the continent. And just renouncing multiculturalism will not stop the Euro-left from continuing to sabotage institutions.
But at least there is an awareness that wasn't there a year ago. We should consider that progress and hope for more.
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