Brown students spending the semester or year in France appear to be safe from the widespread rioting that has prompted the French government to declare a state of emergency.
"The universities where (Brown students) are studying and the places where they're residing are not anywhere near where the de-monstrations are taking place," said Kendall Brostuen, interim director of the Office of International Programs. "The students are continuing their routine as normal and are attending their classes."
Brostuen said the office is working closely with Brown in France Administrative Director Martine Corbiere and Academic Director and Senior Lecturer in French Studies Annie Wiart to ensure the safety of the program's students, 13 of whom are in Paris and a handful of whom are in Lyon.
"We're in contact with the office in France, and we'll be continuously monitoring State Department travel advisories and warnings," he said.
The riots started Oct. 27 in a northeastern Paris suburb in response to the accidental electrocutions of two teenagers of Mauritian and Tunisian descent while they hid from police in a power substation, according to the Associated Press. The rioting has turned into a nationwide insurrection by suburban youths, mainly of African or Arab descent, that has spread to about 300 French cities. The government declared a state of emergency Tuesday after 12 days of civil unrest, imposing curfews in neighborhoods where rioting has taken place.
If the situation gets worse, Brostuen said, the OIP has an emergency evacuation plan in place. If Brown in France were to be canceled, the OIP would work with International SOS, a health and security assistance company, to bring the students home.
"That would be the worst-case scenario, but we're far, far from that," Brostuen said.
Brostuen said that after speaking with Corbiere, who works on a daily basis with the Brown students in France, he feels the U.S. media may be exaggerating the extent of the French riots.
"It's not as alarming a situation as it may be portrayed as on our news," he said.
Shepherd Laughlin '07, who is studying in Paris for the school year, said he has been reading U.S. coverage of the riots and agrees that the media may be exaggerating the situation. Laughlin, who lives in Paris' Marais neighborhood, said most of the city has been unaffected.
"It's mostly been in the northeastern suburbs of Paris," he said. "A lot of those people who live in those suburbs come from North Africa or the Middle East, and there's been a sort of tension there for quite some time."
Laughlin said he has not witnessed any rioting himself and has not been directly affected.
"I've still been able to go about my routine," he said. "I haven't shut myself off in Paris at all because it really honestly hasn't affected me personally, except for the fear that it might."
Laughlin said he can empathize with those involved with the riots.
"I do think the people that live in those areas have been underrepresented in the French political system, so they're just acting out on it," Laughlin said, comparing the violence to the 1992 Los Angeles riots after the Rodney King beating.
But he added that the current civil disobedience seems to have no aim.
"There's really been no justification (for the violence)," Laughlin said. "Maybe we'll see some leader or some sort of ideology come out of it in the next few days, but up until now, it seems like random violence - at least that's how it's getting covered by the media."
Like Laughlin, Emma Laz-Hirsch '09, who is taking the academic year off to live in Lyon, said she has not been personally been affected by the riots.
"I haven't felt a sense of danger," she said.
But although Lyon has been devoid of civil unrest so far, Laz-Hirsch said the nationwide riots have affected the mood of the city's residents.
"People tend to be more cautious before going out. (The riots) are in the papers, and everyone's talking about it," she said. "There's also a fear that the riots are going to spread throughout Europe."
Laz-Hirsch said the rioters have a reason to be upset.
"I think the dissatisfaction is absolutely justified," she said. "It's very clear to me how segregated it is in France. It's very similar to the U.S."
But she agreed with Laughlin's assessment of the rioters' indirection.
"I don't know if I see them working towards some sort of positive process - they're just sort of beating things up," she said.
She said the French government has been dealing with the violence as well as any government would, but she said government officials are not doing enough to address the root of the problem.
"They're still yet to provide any concrete evidence that they're fixing the problem of inequality," Laz-Hirsch said.
