reluctant to talk soon opened up. He says the Feria never comes as far as him. The mayor forbade parking and he wasn’t getting the trade he wanted. Heartened by the first contacts, Arnaud left me at this point and I was on my own. I no longer felt uncomfortable and wandered on into the Salon Marocain. A souk in Beziers ! Thé Vert de Chine , Thé Vert Gunpowder de Chine, Broken Orange Thé de Pékin, Orange Flower drink , bags of pistachios, cacahuètes, chestnuts, arachides en coques, semantes d’orgue, couscous , poivre noir moulu (1/2kg for €8.90 :white pepper €2.50/kg ) canelle , Anies pimento, Indian Curry, Eastern Teapots, Pasta machines, endless spices, Aladdin’s slippers... a host of vegetables and much, much more at prices below what you would expect in the safe environment of your local supermarket with the customary sterile ambiance. Overwhelming. Next was the ‘Mediterranean Travel Agent / Money Transfer/ mobile phone/internet connection/ all goods Emporium! €1 search fee for your flight and €10 for a reservation’ shop. Probably the main man in Béziers to facilitate your Haj. The polite owner, a Moroccan, has been here ten years . With time to kill and hungry for lunch before my arranged meeting I decided on the Star of the East for lunch. With a smile I asked for a beer, which was returned and I settled for a can of orange. Khebabs were off but something I understood to be similar was offered and I settled on that. A fairly long wait on the table out in the street was enlightened by the neighbouring company of four men who seemed to have all the time in the world to drink a rather small cup of tea. It worried me how the restaurant owner could possibly cover his overheads with customers who spent a lot of time, but no money. Mobile phones were constantly used for, I assumed, important business, in who knows what. Perhaps enough to buy another small cup of tea. The plate was full, lots of salad and I’m afraid I don’t know what else. It was wonderful, and I ate all the bread as well. When
the time came to leave I became anxious. With only one ten euro note in my bag, I was bound to be forced to dash off to the nearest machine to convert card to cash. I handed the note over to the smiling waiter, fearing the worst. Another smile, while he searched for a couple of euros change! Wow!
image Left:by: Demeester image above by: Vpe
Ten years ago we were told it was possible to get a menu for nine or ten euros, but we never did find one, well that was eatable. And here it was! Back at the Khebab Restaurant, the owner and two others sat down at a table on Les Allées to answer my questions. The first being, where do all these people come from? All Arabs, they do come from all over , but many come from the car factories and industries around Paris. The Béziers climate suits them and there is no incentive to go back home. Many from overseas have been able to join them, even legally. 20% come
from the old colony of Algeria. They come here to retire. The children are forced to move away since the quantity of traditional work in the Languedoc vineyards has vanished. They grumbled that Spaniards come and work here for ridiculous wages. The French employers discriminate against Arab workers. An employer will pass a well-qualified Arab for less qualified people of his ‘own kind’. One said he had been to Manchester and said there was far less discrimination there. Unemployment is seriously bad here and there really is not a lot of hope for the future. The methods of taking on employees here discourage employers from doing so because of the contracts they are forced into accepting by the current laws. There are just not the opportunities for an unskilled worker to get a start and graft his way into being a loyal employee. The much vaunted history of syndicats makes conditions better for employees has become monopolistic, favouring those in employment too much. They voiced the quantity of paperwork and discrimination against Arabs who want to form their own businesses. That and the extremely high social security payments, with which, from my own experience, I can sympathise greatly. In times of uneven cash flows the demands for social security payments are not flexible or understanding. The Arabs are well known for their business ability and France is missing a trick here by not harnessing it to the greater benefit. Quite a strong indicator of the Eurozone’s present predicament. There was a strong feeling that old France is afraid of the new France full of these people who want their part in it. The new France is multi-racial and it’s up to all to embrace the future and make more possible together. But at the moment the restaurateur said “MARHABA; HAY, HAY”. Which means: “Hi ! We’re not changing anything!” ( Bienvenue ! On ne va changer rien ! Was his translation.)
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