What Does It Mean to Be French?

by Yves Mamou • June 17, 2016 at 5:30 am

Criticism of Islam, usually brought by white, "far right" French people, is certainly taboo. But hate speech against "kuffars" is also a public issue, brought by many French Muslims who often, it seems, introduce themselves as permanent "victims."
Because many regard their ethnic groups as permanent victims, they may well see themselves as belonging to a community of victims, to be exonerated from individual responsibility for whatever they say or do.
A large part of the youths from the suburbs, most of whom are from Arab or African descent, seem to be divorced from the traditional perception of what it means to be French in France.
Like Black M or Benzema, many, it seems, do not want to be part of France as individuals, but as members of a group that, they claim, is always discriminated against: Arabs or Muslims. In a certain way, a silent secession is taking place in France -- an ethnic and religious secession.

Two recent controversies, one involving the French rap singer Black M (left) and the other involving French soccer star Karim Benzema (right), illustrate the way the question of French identity has become a topic of public interest.

There is a "French Question" question today about identity that the French have in common with the Germans and British: What does it mean to be French?

Two recent controversies illustrate the way the question of French identity has become a topic of public interest.

The first is connected to the commemoration of the centenary of the Battle of Verdun (in the First World War); the second is connected to France's national soccer team.

Verdun, in 2016, remains the symbol of a bygone era, when European countries were fighting one another. In Verdun, more than 700,000 French and German soldiers were killed. Today, for the Germans and the French, Verdun has become the symbol of reconciliation between two nations and a justification for constructing a new political area, the European Union.