A Failed Acculturation-by-Naturalisation Experiment. The néo-français in Tunisia under the French Protectorate

Abstract

This article addresses the issues of intercultural contacts and presents historical experiences that relate to contemporary phenomena of the increased flow of migration. The relationship between acculturation and naturalisation and the concepts of integration of colonial peoples with France during the Third French Republic and the colonial empire have been examined. These concepts assumed integration through acculturation and assimilation, and the instrument conducive to this process was to be naturalisation. The article refers to archival material and explores individual cases of naturalisation in Tunisia during the period of the French protectorate. The documents prove that the act of naturalisation itself did not lead to greater acculturation. The main obstacle to acculturation expected by the French authorities was the constant identification of naturalised indigènes with native culture through socialization with the native environment.