"Biographies of the Pieds-Noirs: A History of Repatriates from French North Africa through Individuals"

2018/06/26

While enrolled in the Faculty of Law, I studied international criminal law in the Philip Osten Seminar and became interested in war crimes and crimes against humanity. This is because, even today, unspeakable acts of large-scale violence from the past leave deep scars between ethnic groups and nations. In graduate school, I specialized in French politics and international relations, and since my Doctoral Programs, I have addressed the so-called "issues of historical perception" between France and its former colony, Algeria.

In this book, partly due to a chance meeting with editor Yoshiro Hamasaki, who is a Keio University alumni, I took the history of French Algeria (1830–1962) as the main theme. This book primarily focuses on French people born in French Algeria. They are called "Pieds-Noirs," meaning "black feet." When the Algerian War of Independence broke out in 1954, Algeria became a stage for fierce violence. Starting the year before its conclusion in 1962, many descendants of European settlers and descendants of Jews who had lived in Algeria since before French rule crossed the Mediterranean and repatriated to mainland France.

By adopting the format of biographies of 111 individuals interspersed with columns on culture and history, I wanted to depict French colonial rule in Algeria. In doing so, I hoped to revise the commonly held images of France and the French people. Nicole Garcia is a leading actress and film director in the French film industry, but as someone born in Algeria, she and her relatives on the mainland held conflicting views regarding Algeria, and her connection to her birthplace influenced her career as a filmmaker. Therefore, one cannot help but feel a sense of incongruity in introducing Garcia simply as a "French actress and film director."

Other figures such as the writer Albert Camus, the designer Yves Saint Laurent, and the philosopher Jacques Derrida were also born in Algeria. Many artists and politicians have also emerged from there, and what we consider "French" is sometimes unexpectedly and closely related to the African continent.

I hope this book serves as a stepping stone to deepening the understanding of the harshness of colonial rule and war, as well as the contemporary French society where diverse roots are intermingled.

"Biographies of the Pieds-Noirs: A History of Repatriates from French North Africa through Individuals"

Eriko Oshima (Author)

Publib

288 pages, 2,300 yen (excluding tax)

*Affiliations and titles are as of the time of writing.