There is strong anecdotal evidence that racialised populations were the most affected by Covid-19 in France and in the United Kingdom. In the UK, ethnic statistics were used to back up the claim, whereas in France it was only an assumption as no such statistics are available.
People facing the greatest economic deprivation experienced a higher risk of exposure to Covid-19. Existing poor health put them at risk of more severe outcomes when they contacted the virus. Being poorer, living in overcrowded housing, poor health and access to health services largely increased the chances of contracting coronavirus. A British survey pointed to a strong correlation between those factors and the high rates of infection among the BAME population. What is more, non-white people were overrepresented among key workers (nurses, couriers, supermarket cashiers); the most exposed and affected workers during the pandemic.
The French media reported on the situation in the UK, but showed no interest in what was going on in France. Rare articles in the French press noted that Seine-Saint-Denis, the poorest French department, was the area which had the largest racialised population, many of them being key workers.
Furthermore, the non-white population were also on the receiving end of the government’s most draconian lockdown measures. Non-white people in Seine-Saint-Denis were three times as much arrested and fined as white people. Police brutality against ethnic minorities in poorer suburbs also made the headlines.
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Philippe Marliere | Radio Free (2020-07-06T17:54:08+00:00) Covid-19 and the surge of the antiracist movement in France. Retrieved from https://www.radiofree.org/2020/07/06/covid-19-and-the-surge-of-the-antiracist-movement-in-france/
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