‘HOW extraordinary’. Those are about the only words that I can come up with to describe the events in world affairs that have unfolded this week.

Although I have little or no interest in matters of a sporting nature, I couldn’t help but notice that the extremely young Lewis Hamilton made it to the top of his sport, thus providing yet another sporting triumph for the Brits and an inspirationally positive role model for the youth of today. Rare to find a young black role model showing the virtues of commitment and dedication to a goal, and not glorifying gun violence, bling and disaffection.

No sooner had he stood upon the world stage than he was being jostled into the shadows by history in the making in the form of Barack Obama. It is rare that you feel yourself standing on the threshold of history, but I must admit to feeling that way as America elected their first black president. It renews your faith in all things being possible when a country that often gives the impression of being full of moose-shooting rednecks actually votes in somebody who is the antithesis of those negative images and represents the ideals that America would like to stand for.

These events make me feel much more positive for the future of France, the country whose motto of ‘Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité’ (liberty, equality, fraternity) still only extends to certain of her citizens. France has a troubled relationship with the children of her former and present colonies. She wants and needs them to fill jobs that no self-respecting Frenchman wants to do, but she is not so keen on having the people that go with the labour. It is probably not too much of an exaggeration to say that France detests large swathes of the immigrant population, especially the North Africans who are seen as lazy, violent and criminal. This overt racism is seen in the large number of votes that Lepen’s National Front garners at election time and the high-rise ghettos to be found in any larger town.

I recently read an interview with Jamel Debouze, a French actor and comedian of Moroccan descent who has recently become hugely successful and well known. In the interview he quite matter of factly described how despite his success he was still regularly hassled by the police and that taxi drivers would refuse to allow him in their cabs. I found this quite shocking and wondered if a similar thing would be allowed to happen to somebody like Lenny Henry in the UK, or anybody else who happens to be less than white. I hope not.

But luckily the world is changing and where America leads, the rest of us follow, and just as McDonalds have sprung up like mushrooms in every corner of the globe (even in France), so should the spirit of hope and opportunity spread. France has already taken its first step by voting in Sarkozy (with his Hungarian ancestry). It surely can’t be too huge a leap of faith to expect to see a North African woman moving into the Elysee Palace one day. We live in hope, because anything is possible in extraordinary times.