French Arabs Happy War Is Over--Some Regret Hussein’s Defeat

At the Place du Pont in the old Arab quarter here, French Arabs reacted to the defeat of Iraq’s military machine with a mixture of shock and relief. Saddam Hussein, hero to some, villain to others, had lost in a humiliating 100-hour war.

“Disappointment and frustration about the result, and relief that it is finally over,” said Hadda Challali, 30, an Algerian-born office worker who was eating sweets with friends Thursday afternoon at the Ennoujoum Tunisian Bakery.

“For me, he did not lose,” said a dejected Mohammed Zaili, 54, who was seated, sipping mint tea in the same bakery and looking with hostility at Challali and her friends. “He lost the battle, but not the war.”

For months, many Algerians, Tunisians and Moroccans--part of the 4 million Arabs who live in France--had reveled in the saga of the defiant Iraqi leader who challenged the West and brought a flicker of glory to the Arabs. There are an estimated 400,000 Arabs in Lyon, France’s second-largest city.

Others were caught uncomfortably in the dilemma of having to choose between their French soldiers and their Arab brothers. Opinion polls showed general support for French policy but general dislike for Hussein and George Bush.

In fact, the division of loyalties within the Arab community had been a relief to French leaders. When the conflict began, French political leaders feared fighting a war on two fronts--one in the desert of Kuwait and another in the Arab community at home.

But organized support for Hussein in the Arab community was almost non-existent. French police made it clear how they would react to Arab demonstrations months ago when they swept into the Place du Pont and into Arab neighborhoods in Paris and Marseilles and confiscated pro-Hussein recordings by Algerian singer Mazouni.

Arabs whose working papers were not in good order were informed that identity checks would be more frequent if they joined pro-Hussein demonstrations. Consequently, Arab participation in the anti-war movement in France was minimal, although opposition to the war probably was strongest in the Arab community.

By the end of the seven-month ordeal that concluded in the short land war, some Arabs had grown weary of the Iraqi leader’s constant hyperbole. His defeat was a confirmation of their worst fears: that there was very little substance behind Hussein’s talk.

Butcher shop manager Fathia Ben Salen, 30, thin and elegant, watched the legend of Hussein unravel in the Arab quarter.

“At the beginning, he was more popular than at the end,” she said, at first refusing to elaborate. Later, she confided: “At the beginning, we thought he could actually do something for the Palestinians. At the end, we could see how he exaggerated--how he had given hope to people. Hope based on nothing. Hope that people had died for.”

The 100-hour ground war had been a tense time for France’s Arabs. “We all suffered watching it happen,” said Mohammed Zaili.