France: Andre Loves His Homeland | Around the World | PragerU Kids

bonjour and welcome to France a beautiful and historic European nation France is among the most famous countries on Earth it has a unique culture and iconic Traditions that are celebrated and respected around the world it is certainly a home to be proud of but alarmingly a growing number of people living within French borders think otherwise in the shadows of Paris mainly in its Multicultural suburbs love of country has declined rapidly in these communities many people are rejecting French ways leaving the nation divided France has a long history of celebrating values like freedom of expression and religious liberty but today these Western ideals are in Jeopardy for over a century France has opened its doors to immigrants and it has benefited from the talents and skills that they brought with them but in recent years many of the newcomers are choosing not to adopt the ways of the country they move to can this proud Nation survive the division it's facing meet Andre he's 14 and lives in a Paris suburb with his parents Amman and miam and his younger sister Sylvie Andre is always curious enjoys discussions and is an excellent student he's also a pretty big soccer fan and plays regularly with his friends but his main passion is rapping hip-hop culture is wildly popular in France and there are many good rappers in Andre's neighborhood but he is among the best Andre keeps a notepad with him always fills its pages with word combinations he thinks up and is known for skillfully weaving The Rock in and out of freestyle as he performs for his friends on the corner he dreams of someday being a famous MC and he's well on his way while Andre and his sister were born in Paris their parents immigrated from the former French colony of kot deoa or Ivory Coast in English most of their neighborhood is filled with fellow first and second generation immigrants but none are as patriotic toward France as ammani and miam they have a special appreciation for their adopted Homeland and the freedoms that come with it especially freedom of religion Andre's parents are proud to be French and unlike some don't see that as forgetting their ivorian Heritage Andre never really thought much about his parents patriotism until recently it was normal to fly a French flag around holidays cheer on the national sports scene and dress up for the Victory Day Parade each year but the more time Andre spent with his friends especially shaba an immigrant from Algeria the more he learned that in their Neighborhood his family isn't normal at all his friends and their families accuse many French traditions of being racist and think French culture is often hostile towards Customs from their homelands Andre had often been teased for acting French but since starting 9th grade the teasing has darkened Monsour Allard taught the school's mandatory French citizenship class and from the beginning Andre liked him the young teacher brought up challenging topics that often led to passionate debates but he always directed the conversations and encouraged civil discourse so his students would understand all sides this method worked well until the day Monsour Allard brought up the topic of France's ban on certain religious clothing Andre's classmates grew upset when discussing bans of Muslim head and facial coverings and some were enraged that Monsour Allard did not take their side as they left class that day shaba made some troubling comments about getting back at their teacher and Andre hoped his friend was joking later when Andre met his friends on the corner no one cheered when he finished his ver vers and Andre wondered what he did wrong it's not your lyrics bro shaba explained it's that everyone knows you like that white teacher you're a sellout as much as he liked his civics class acceptance from his friends seemed more important at the time I'm sorry shaba Andre said what can I do to show that I'm not with Monsour Allard that I'm still with you guys shab's answer sent a chill down Andre's spine he wanted Andre to steal the France lapel pin monor alard always wore on his jacket could he really bring himself to steal it when Andre's parents heard he was facing suspension they were shocked they met with Monsour Allard to discuss punishment and explain their confusion their son had attempted to steal from his favorite teacher it didn't make sense the adults discussed the pressure Andre faced from his friends and decided on an unusual punishment a field trip to a famous art museum was coming up and instead of getting suspended Andre would be specifically assigned to the small group Monsour Allard would be guiding Andre would then have to spend the entire day with the victim of his crime on the day of the field trip mour Allard challenged Andre to pay attention to where the artists were from they walked the beautiful hallways and looked at Master paintings from all over the world and it was astonishing to Andre how many of the artists had moved to France as adults France is a wonderful place no Monsour Allard kept asking Andre and throughout the day they discussed not just painters but also famous writers actors and musicians who had moved to France to make it their home did these people move to France so they could reject its ways mour Allard asked of course not they had moved to France to accept and benefit from its cultures and traditions Andre had to admit that newcomers assimilating to French society was the right thing to do back at home rumors of a protest were spreading Andre saw all over social media what happened while he was on his field trip shaba and a few others had stolen a car and tried to drive it back to the neighborhood when the police stopped them shaba managed to escape but another boy was shot in the leg people raised their voices with cries of racism when Andre finally found his friend he had a million questions but shaba just brushed him off and told him to come to the protest there will be thousands of us shaba said just watch finally Andre shook his head no you guys stole a car Andre said calmly nobody made you do that when the police stopped you and you tried to drive away what did you think would happen what's wrong with you shaba snapped police are the enemy France is the enemy whose side are you on you're acting like one of them Andre told his friend I'm sorry shaba but I am one of them I'm French and you can be too this country gave our families a home we should be grateful and if you're honest with yourself you'll see this is a great place Andre walked away alone his heart hurt for his friend but he knew he had something more important than the protest to attend today is Victory Day a day of celebration for all of France Andre's family is among the diverse crowds lined along paris's famed sha Eliz for the parade but instead of celebrating miam is wondering if her son went to the protest or if he will decide to join them there he is Andre wearing a national team jersey and with a French flag draped over his shoulders waves to his family and joins them to celebrate it's been a difficult year and France's divisions remain but Andre knows now that he's right where he belongs and he feels something swelling in his chest national pride he joins the chance Viv La France Long Live France [Music]