“But that’s the beauty of France,” Claude said. “We’re all Frenchmen. I’m French, you’re French, he’s… Well he’s Austrian but never mind. The Republic values absolute equality before the law, blind to color.” “Don’t you see? That’s exactly the problem. Refusing to acknowledge difference, in class or creed or skin, makes matters worse. We don’t all stand equal before the law. I stand as a Black Frenchman, you as a white. What color is the magistrate? What color is the officer who arrests me for soliciting because I’m walking through the park, but allows you, a known prostitute, to cavort freely
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