Liberating the Land or Absorbing a Community: Managing North African Migration and the &lt;I&gt;Bidonvilles&lt;/I&gt; in Paris's &lt;I&gt;Banlieues&lt;/I&gt;

Byrnes, Melissa K.

doi:10.3167/fpcs.2013.310301

Cited by 5 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…7 This included providing substantial funds for ‘urgent repairs’ at the Paris Mosque under the heading of social action expenses connected to events in Algeria (SAMAS, 1959). Conveniently, all of these programmes also provided excellent opportunities for the state to keep Algerian migrants under surveillance (Abdelfettah, 2004; Byrnes, 2013; House, 2004; Lyons, 2013).…”

Section: France As a ‘Muslim Power’mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Finally, in an intriguing twist, pro-imperial French officials were not the only ones willing to bend their understanding of laïcité in order to cultivate the support of local North African migrants. The communist municipality in Saint-Denis, for example, was outspoken in its opposition to the empire, and especially the Algerian War (Byrnes, 2008, 2013); yet it too used Ramadan as an occasion to reach out to the city’s Muslim North Africans. In June 1950, Mayor Auguste Gillot and his colleagues at the hôtel de ville hosted an honorary Ramadan tea, open to all North Africans in Saint-Denis, ‘in order that the North Africans feel “at home” and to signify as well that the party respects the traditions and morals of the peoples from the overseas departments’ (Anon., 1950).…”

Section: Ramadan On the Rhônementioning

confidence: 99%

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Ramadan in the Republic: Imperial necessity and local religious assistance to Muslim migrants

Byrnes

2017

French Cultural Studies

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In May 1953, a group of Lyon’s political and social leaders hosted a series of Ramadan celebrations in honour of the region’s growing Muslim North African migrant population. While it seems strange that civil authorities in the secular French Republic would publically observe a Muslim holiday, the French Empire had, for decades, engaged in activities to promote Muslim attachment to France and demonstrate its support for Muslim cultural and religious practices. From declarations that France was a ‘Muslim power’ through the campaigns of the Algerian War, the French consistently waived the ideals of strict laïcité in order to strengthen the imperial system. This pragmatic willingness to relax secular positions when greater state interests were at stake contrasts with contemporary claims that the Republic can make no accommodations to Islam or its observance. More importantly, this history proves that there are strong French precedents for allowing the Republic to make space for its Muslim citizens.

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Section: France As a ‘Muslim Power’mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Ramadan On the Rhônementioning

confidence: 99%