Hip-hop backlash in France over state diploma plan

“Le hip hop” and “le rap” have long been popular with France’s disaffected, multiracial youth. The country is thought to have the world’s second-biggest hip-hop scene, introduced by a Paris radio show, Rapper Dapper, more than 40 years ago and sustained since by artists from economically deprived suburbs, or banlieues. So when French ministers decided to require hip-hop teachers to obtain a state diploma of the sort already demanded in ballet, they thought they would be congratulated for their inclusiveness. Instead, they are facing a backlash; accused of seeking to institutionalise street culture through a neo-colonial approach. On one side of the row are advocates of the French Republic with its commitment to liberty, equality and fraternity, and its belief that such notions require