In search of Frenchness

The Sarkozy government's debates on national identity peddle the same old story about the enemy within – French Muslims

by Faïza Guène  

guardian.co.uk, Thursday 28 January 2010 10.00 GMT

The nationwide debate on national identity launched in November by Eric Besson, the minister of immigration, national identity, integration, and co-development, has now been raging for several weeks. I'm actually not that surprised by all of this – we have grown accustomed to these diversionary tactics used by the government, sort of like when a magician distracts you with a dove in order to better conceal the ace of clubs hidden up his sleeve. David Copperfield might as well go back to where he came from now that Nicolas Sarkozy's government is in place.
Of course this isn't the first time that politicians have encouraged the public to think about empty questions on the eve of elections, in this case the regional elections scheduled for March 2010. They tried that old trick with the business of integration, headscarves in schools, illegal immigrants, the riots in the banlieues, booing the national anthem in the Stade de France… But we always return to the same old story about the enemy within. The insidious question then becomes: "Will you be able to spot him?"
We are being asked to think about what it means to be French and Besson has even suggested that we take this opportunity to reassert our pride in being French, in the spirit of national cohesion. I don't suppose it's even worth asking how one could possibly be proud of being French at the heart of such a debate?
Supposedly, there exists a model of Frenchness to which we should all adhere. A true Frenchman sings the national anthem in the shower, prepares his tax return while sipping a glass of Bordeaux, is of no particular colour and worships the Nation. What do they expect? Perhaps a wave of spirited Republican nationalism in the image of a bare-breasted, flag-bearing Liberty Leading the People as in Eugène Delacroix's famous 1830 painting?
I remember seeing this same image on a crumpled 100-franc bank note back in the days when one might assume this debate didn't exist. But let me remind you of a speech given by our former president, Jacques Chirac, in the city of Orléans back in 1991, in which he alluded to the "noise" and "smell" caused by foreigners. Here's a short excerpt just to give you an idea:

We don't have a problem with foreigners as such, but rather with the fact that there's an overdose of them. It might very well be true that there are no more foreigners in France today than there were before the second world war, but the ones that are here now are not the same and that makes a difference. And one can't dispute the fact that the Spaniards, Poles and Portuguese who come and work here are less trouble than Muslims and blacks.

Almost 20 years have elapsed since that speech. We had been forewarned! But hidden behind this debate on national identity is the recognition that being French and a practicing Muslim are incompatible, and so if you have the misfortune to be black as well, you can only imagine. They "are not the same and that makes a difference". MPs in France have recommended partially outlawing the wearing of the burqa or niqab in public places. Only a few hundred Muslim women currently dress in that manner. Of course, these measures are justified in the name of liberty, one of the founding ideals of our beloved republic. I was obviously naive in believing that in 2010, by definition, liberty could not be imposed on people, and that the image of the sabre-wielding barbaric Muslim forcing his wife/daughter/sister to cover herself no longer existed in the collective imagination.
But the real issue here is being Muslim and French. After the Swiss authorities approved a ban on minarets following a national referendum, the floodgates opened to all forms of intolerance allowing people to express themselves "freely" while at the same time the perennial fear of the invader persists. Just recently, Nadine Morano, secretary of state for family, declared: "I expect a young Muslim, when he's French, to love his country, find a job, refrain from speaking slang, and to not wear his cap back-to-front." Yet another example that serves to remind us French Muslims that our national identity is not a given and that for those unable to ask us to "go back to our own countries" (too bad, but that would be France!), the next best step is simply to erase little by little all that distances us from the true Frenchman, beginning with Islam and its distinctive features.
If truth be told, we know who the real targets in this debate are; but this violence is backfiring and France's own children are now its victims. All these public controversies and nasty public statements leave you with an unpleasant aftertaste, the feeling of having been wronged, let down by this Republic that has failed to keep its promises. Just like when you sign a contract and neglect to read the small print. Well, I for one am unconditionally French. And so, "What is it to be French?" I think I've found the answer to your question, Mr Besson. It's quite simply to refuse the debate as you have conceived of it.
• This article was translated from the French by Dominic Thomas

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