AMERICAblog: A great nation deserves the truth

French cosmetics giant L'Oreal lost a major case over charges of racism with hiring. From an American perspective I find the punishment laughable and a minor accounting adjustment (30,000 euro or around $40,000 plus a suspended sentence, not to mention seven years in court) but at least L'Oreal has to live with the humiliation of being found guilty.

In July 2000, a fax detailing the profile of hostesses sought by L'Oréal stipulated women should be 18 to 22, size 38-42 (UK size 10-14) and "BBR", the initials for bleu, blanc, rouge, the colours of the French flag. Prosecutors argued that BBR, a shorthand used by the far right, was also a well-known code among employers to mean "white" French people and not those of north African, African and Asian backgrounds.

Christine Cassan, a former employee at Districom, a communications firm acting for Garnier, told the court her clients demanded white hostesses. She said that when she had gone ahead and presented candidates "of colour" a superior in her own company had said she had "had enough of Christine and her Arabs".

In theory, the Sarkozy government has plans to modernize France's attitudes towards race in the workplace but compared to what already exists in the US (which is far from perfect, but at least an acknowledged issue) there is a very long road ahead. As offensive as L'Oreal has been shown to be in this case, it's a story that I have heard much too often here and anyone who has ever stepped into an office in France or looked at the political ruling class would also quickly notice the difference between faces you see on the street versus faces you see in offices and politics. Sarkozy does deserve some credit for starting to make some of these necessary and long overdue changes.

URL: AMERICAblog: A great nation deserves the truth