Debate about identity is wrong approach

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has plunged his country into a debate about the French identity and the question of how immigrants should be integrated into society. Writing for leftist daily Público sociology professor Antonio Izquierdo questions the validity of this debate: "[Sarkozy] asks the citizens to choose which values define the French identity. The purpose of this discussion is to define the content of the integration contract which immigrants have to sign. This is an implicit admission that the assimilation of foreigners has failed and the reason given for this is that they are not familiar with the fundamental symbols. The goal is to put a cultural lock on integration. The debate is a false path because there is no standardised French identity, nor is there a standardised identity among the immigrants. In reality the identities are diverse and they are not forced on people, but are chosen by them. What's more, values have an expiry date too."

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