Issues of Culture and Identity in Contemporary France: The Problem of Reconciling a Colonial Past with a Present Reality

Abstract

In July 2004, a young woman claimed that she had been attacked on the Paris urban railway system by four Maghrebins and two Africans and that the discovery that she might be Jewish had intensified the character of the attack. For a number of days, the French media were dominated by the case and leading politicians condemned it. The events drew attention to a number of issues concerning culture and identity in contemporary France and the role played in constituting this identity of history and memory. However, it also displayed how the constitution of identity is a selective process in which different elements may be dealt with, either in different ways or omitted altogether. This article explores how in attempting to come to terms with the legacies of anti-Semitism, other areas of history and memory have been neglected, including the legacy of France’s colonial empire, and, in particular, her relationship with Algeria.