In the mid 80's, a strong anti-racist movement took place to counter a growing and disturbing anti-Arabs trend towards mostly Algerian, Tunisian, and Moroccan immigrants. This is a part of French history that nobody should be too proud of....
"Les ratonnades" ("raton", is a very offensive term used to refer to North African Arabs), were violent attacks led by French on immigrants. They were rounded up indiscriminately, and, most of the time, beaten up for no apparent reason. Some even died from injuries sustained after these horrific events.
A well-known anti-racist organization is S.O.S-racisme. The yellow hand with the inscription "touche pas a mon pote" is a typical expression to show your support for race equality. Many actors, singers, comedians of all horizons, participate to annual concerts as well as demonstration in Paris and other big cities in France sponsored by S.O.S-racisme.
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On the left, a concert to celebrate the 20-year anniversary of the organization. On the right, the famous logo. |
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MOVIES
Movies play an important role to trigger public awareness by exposing social issues that need to be addressed.
"Dupont Lajoie" (1975) by Yves Boisset is one of them. The film is depicting a rapist French man who kills a young French girl, and then accuses an Algerian immigrant of the murder, triggering a "ratonnade". As a result, the immigrant is lynched by an angry mob and dies.
A more recent one, "Indigenes" (2006) by Rachid Bouchareb, is about North Africans fighting for France during World War II.
"Azur et Asmar" (2007) by Michel Ocelot is a lovely anime about two boys, one French (Azur), the other Algerian (Asmar), raised as equals by Asmar'mother.
"Beur, Blanc, Rouge" (2006) by Mahmoud Zemmouri is a movie about the soccer game "France-Algèrie" and the reactions from "Beurs" after the French team severely beat Algeria.
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MUSIC
The 90's saw a tremendous amount of new bands, singers from "la generation Beur". Hip-hop, rap, rock, R&B, and not to mention the Rai music (musique rai), Algerian and Moroccan music with lyrics in Arabic and/or French, which is hugely popular.
Many of these artists are singing about "le mal d'être" and "la crise d'identité", reccurent themes which echo the voice of millions of other young "Beurs".
Singers such as Diam's, Kayna Samet, Digital, IAM, and a myriad of others are extremely talented and are reshaping France's musical landscape. Teenage "Beurs" and French alike stand side by side while artists are performing during concerts.
Diam's
Kayna Samet
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SPORTS
Players in the French soccer national team reflect the most successful "assimilation" trend proned by France society. Indeed, the team that won the 1998 World Cup was composed of many "Blacks" and a famous "Beur", Zinadine Zidane, the team captain. Today, "Blacks" and "Beurs" can easily take credit for the team rebirth and for its regained place among the best teams in the world.
 How many white players can you count? |
BANDES DESSINEES
A favorite "passe-temps" for entire French generations (I am still an avid reader of "bandes dessinées"!), this particular form of comic books are also reflecting social changes. For a long time, "bandes dessinées" or "BD" for short, was an art exclusively reserved for white artists. Not anymore. A growing list of "Beur" artists are becoming more and more successul in "drawing" in a new mix of young readers, regardless of their origins.
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Bandes dessinées françaises
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