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French law on colonialism

The 23 February 2005 French law on colonialism (French: loi n° 2005-158 du 23 février 2005 portant reconnaissance de la Nation et contribution nationale en faveur des Français rapatriés, "Law No. 2005-158 of 23 February 2005 regarding recognition of the Nation and national contribution in favour of the French repatriates") was an act passed by the National Assembly, which imposed on high-school (lycée) teachers a requirement to teach the "positive values" of colonialism to their students (Article 4, Paragraph 2). The law, particularly the aforementioned paragraph and Articles 1 and 13, created a public uproar and drew massive opposition from the left, and Article 4, Paragraph 2 was repealed by president Jacques Chirac (UMP)[1] at the beginning of 2006, after accusations of historical revisionism from various teachers and historians, including Pierre Vidal-Naquet, Claude Liauzu, Olivier Le Cour Grandmaison and Benjamin Stora. Its Article 13 was also criticized as it supported former Organisation armée secrète (OAS) militants.

Context Edit

At the end of Algerian War, upon independence in 1962, 900,000 European-Algerians (Pieds-noirs) fled to France within a few months in fear of the FLN's revenge. The French government was totally unprepared for the vast number of refugees, which caused turmoil in France. The majority of Algerian Muslims who had worked for the French were disarmed and left behind as the treaty between French and Algerian authorities declared that no actions could be taken against them.[2] However, the Harkis in particular, having served as auxiliaries with the French army, were regarded as traitors by the FLN and between 50,000 and 150,000 Harkis and family members were murdered by the FLN or by lynch-mobs, often after being abducted and tortured.[dubious ] About 91,000 managed to flee to France,[citation needed] some with help from their French officers acting against orders, and as of 2016 they and their descendants form a significant part of the Algerian-French population.

Article 4 on the "positive role of the French presence abroad" Edit

The controversial Article 4 asked teachers and textbooks to "acknowledge and recognize in particular the positive role of the French presence abroad, especially in North Africa".[3] This was considered by the left-wing and many in the former colonies as a denial of the problems of colonialism. There was rising antagonism both nationally and internationally until the law was repealed at the start of 2006. Abdelaziz Bouteflika, president of Algeria, refused to sign the envisioned "friendly treaty" with France because of this law. On 26 June 2005, he declared that the law "...approached mental blindness, negationism and revisionism."[4][5][6] Famous writer Aimé Césaire, leader of the Négritude anti-colonialist literary movement, also refused to meet then-UMP leader Nicolas Sarkozy. The latter cancelled his visit to the overseas department of Martinique, where a thousand people demonstrated against him in Fort-de-France. Sarkozy was elected president in 2007.

UMP deputy Christian Vanneste was criticized for having introduced the expression "rôle positif" (French for "positive values") in the text. On 25 April 2005, more than a thousand professors and thesis students had signed the petition "Colonisation: No to the teaching of an official history". MP Christiane Taubira called the law "disastrous" and enacted because of lobbying from the harkis and the Pieds-Noirs, remaining silent on the Indigenate Code or forced labour in the former colonies.

Partial repeal Edit

Supporters of the law were decried as a resurgence of the "colonial lobby", a term used in late 19th-century France to label people (deputies, scientists, businessmen, etc.) who supported French colonialism. In defiance of this revisionism, Chirac finally turned against his own UMP majority that had voted for the law, and declared: "In a Republic, there is no official history. Writing history is the business of historians: it should not be circumscribed by laws."[7] He passed a decree charging the president of the Assembly, Jean-Louis Debré (UMP), with modifying the controversial law, to take out the revisionist article. In order to do so, Chirac ordered Prime minister Dominique de Villepin to refer the matter to the Constitutional Council, hoping the decision would allow such a decree to repeal the law.[8] The Constitutional Council indeed decreed that the regulation of history textbooks is an administrative matter, not a legal one, and as such, the contested amendment was repealed at the beginning of 2006.

History and the law Edit

In a tribune Liberty for History, 19 historians (including Élisabeth Badinter, Alain Decaux and Marc Ferro) demanded the repeal of all "historic laws": not only the 23 February 2005 Act, but also the 1990 Gayssot Act against "racism, xenophobia and historical revisionism", the Taubira Act on the recognition of slavery as a "crime against humanity", and the law recognizing the Armenian genocide. Historians found this demand controversial. While many agreed that the state should not be determining history, few believed that the previous acts had to be repealed. Some opposed the Gayssot Act and other laws, but thought repealing them would be perceived as a kind of condemnation of the ideas.

Un passé qui ne passe pas (A past that never passes) Edit

The debate on the 23 February 2005 law was linked to a wider debate in France concerning colonialism and current issues of immigration. As the historian Benjamin Stora pointed out, people interested in colonialism have a major "memory" stake in influencing the way various communities and the nation represent themselves. Official state histories generally have a hard time accepting the existence of past crimes and errors. The Algerian war of independence (1954–62), characterized at the time by the French government as a "public order operation," was only recognized as a "war" in 1999 by the French National Assembly.[9][10] In the same sense, philosopher Paul Ricœur (1981) has said that there has to be a "decolonization of memory", because mentalities themselves have been colonized during the "Age of Imperialism."[citation needed]

See also Edit

References Edit

  1. ^ Lotem, Itay (25 January 2016). "A decade after the riots, France has rewritten its colonial history". theconversation.com. Retrieved 2020-10-24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^ Évian accords, Chapitre II, partie A, article 2
  3. ^ Loi no 2005-158 du 23 février 2005 portant reconnaissance de la Nation et contribution nationale en faveur des Français rapatriés (in French)
  4. ^ . Le Nouvel Observateur (in French). 2006-01-26. Archived from the original on 2008-09-29. Retrieved 2019-12-21.
  5. ^ "French Revisionism: Case Of Positive Role Of French Colonisation". The Cameroun Post. 2005-12-18.
  6. ^ "France under pressure to defend its colonial past". Agence France-Presse. 2005-12-08.
  7. ^ "History should not be written by law" says Jacques Chirac (Ce n'est pas à la loi d'écrire l'histoire), quoted by RFI, December 11, 2005: [1] (in French)
  8. ^ "Chirac revient sur le 'rôle positif' de la colonisation" (in French). RFI. 2006-01-26.
  9. ^ [Colonialism: A Dangerous War of Memories Begin (by Benjamin Stora)]. L'Humanité (published 2005-12-06). January 17, 2006. Archived from the original on 2007-01-13.
  10. ^ Claude Liauzu (June 2005). "At war with France's past". Le Monde diplomatique.

french, colonialism, help, expand, this, article, with, text, translated, from, corresponding, article, french, click, show, important, translation, instructions, machine, translation, like, deepl, google, translate, useful, starting, point, translations, tran. You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in French Click show for important translation instructions Machine translation like DeepL or Google Translate is a useful starting point for translations but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate rather than simply copy pasting machine translated text into the English Wikipedia Consider adding a topic to this template there are already 5 733 articles in the main category and specifying topic will aid in categorization Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low quality If possible verify the text with references provided in the foreign language article You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing French Wikipedia article at fr Loi portant reconnaissance de la Nation et contribution nationale en faveur des Francais rapatries see its history for attribution You should also add the template Translated fr Loi portant reconnaissance de la Nation et contribution nationale en faveur des Francais rapatries to the talk page For more guidance see Wikipedia Translation The 23 February 2005 French law on colonialism French loi n 2005 158 du 23 fevrier 2005 portant reconnaissance de la Nation et contribution nationale en faveur des Francais rapatries Law No 2005 158 of 23 February 2005 regarding recognition of the Nation and national contribution in favour of the French repatriates was an act passed by the National Assembly which imposed on high school lycee teachers a requirement to teach the positive values of colonialism to their students Article 4 Paragraph 2 The law particularly the aforementioned paragraph and Articles 1 and 13 created a public uproar and drew massive opposition from the left and Article 4 Paragraph 2 was repealed by president Jacques Chirac UMP 1 at the beginning of 2006 after accusations of historical revisionism from various teachers and historians including Pierre Vidal Naquet Claude Liauzu Olivier Le Cour Grandmaison and Benjamin Stora Its Article 13 was also criticized as it supported former Organisation armee secrete OAS militants Contents 1 Context 2 Article 4 on the positive role of the French presence abroad 3 Partial repeal 4 History and the law 5 Un passe qui ne passe pas A past that never passes 6 See also 7 ReferencesContext EditAt the end of Algerian War upon independence in 1962 900 000 European Algerians Pieds noirs fled to France within a few months in fear of the FLN s revenge The French government was totally unprepared for the vast number of refugees which caused turmoil in France The majority of Algerian Muslims who had worked for the French were disarmed and left behind as the treaty between French and Algerian authorities declared that no actions could be taken against them 2 However the Harkis in particular having served as auxiliaries with the French army were regarded as traitors by the FLN and between 50 000 and 150 000 Harkis and family members were murdered by the FLN or by lynch mobs often after being abducted and tortured dubious discuss About 91 000 managed to flee to France citation needed some with help from their French officers acting against orders and as of 2016 update they and their descendants form a significant part of the Algerian French population Article 4 on the positive role of the French presence abroad EditThe controversial Article 4 asked teachers and textbooks to acknowledge and recognize in particular the positive role of the French presence abroad especially in North Africa 3 This was considered by the left wing and many in the former colonies as a denial of the problems of colonialism There was rising antagonism both nationally and internationally until the law was repealed at the start of 2006 Abdelaziz Bouteflika president of Algeria refused to sign the envisioned friendly treaty with France because of this law On 26 June 2005 he declared that the law approached mental blindness negationism and revisionism 4 5 6 Famous writer Aime Cesaire leader of the Negritude anti colonialist literary movement also refused to meet then UMP leader Nicolas Sarkozy The latter cancelled his visit to the overseas department of Martinique where a thousand people demonstrated against him in Fort de France Sarkozy was elected president in 2007 UMP deputy Christian Vanneste was criticized for having introduced the expression role positif French for positive values in the text On 25 April 2005 more than a thousand professors and thesis students had signed the petition Colonisation No to the teaching of an official history MP Christiane Taubira called the law disastrous and enacted because of lobbying from the harkis and the Pieds Noirs remaining silent on the Indigenate Code or forced labour in the former colonies Partial repeal EditSupporters of the law were decried as a resurgence of the colonial lobby a term used in late 19th century France to label people deputies scientists businessmen etc who supported French colonialism In defiance of this revisionism Chirac finally turned against his own UMP majority that had voted for the law and declared In a Republic there is no official history Writing history is the business of historians it should not be circumscribed by laws 7 He passed a decree charging the president of the Assembly Jean Louis Debre UMP with modifying the controversial law to take out the revisionist article In order to do so Chirac ordered Prime minister Dominique de Villepin to refer the matter to the Constitutional Council hoping the decision would allow such a decree to repeal the law 8 The Constitutional Council indeed decreed that the regulation of history textbooks is an administrative matter not a legal one and as such the contested amendment was repealed at the beginning of 2006 History and the law EditThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed February 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message In a tribune Liberty for History 19 historians including Elisabeth Badinter Alain Decaux and Marc Ferro demanded the repeal of all historic laws not only the 23 February 2005 Act but also the 1990 Gayssot Act against racism xenophobia and historical revisionism the Taubira Act on the recognition of slavery as a crime against humanity and the law recognizing the Armenian genocide Historians found this demand controversial While many agreed that the state should not be determining history few believed that the previous acts had to be repealed Some opposed the Gayssot Act and other laws but thought repealing them would be perceived as a kind of condemnation of the ideas Un passe qui ne passe pas A past that never passes EditSee also French rule in Algeria Post colonial relations The debate on the 23 February 2005 law was linked to a wider debate in France concerning colonialism and current issues of immigration As the historian Benjamin Stora pointed out people interested in colonialism have a major memory stake in influencing the way various communities and the nation represent themselves Official state histories generally have a hard time accepting the existence of past crimes and errors The Algerian war of independence 1954 62 characterized at the time by the French government as a public order operation was only recognized as a war in 1999 by the French National Assembly 9 10 In the same sense philosopher Paul Ricœur 1981 has said that there has to be a decolonization of memory because mentalities themselves have been colonized during the Age of Imperialism citation needed See also EditList of French possessions and coloniesReferences Edit Lotem Itay 25 January 2016 A decade after the riots France has rewritten its colonial history theconversation com Retrieved 2020 10 24 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint url status link Evian accords Chapitre II partie A article 2 Loi no 2005 158 du 23 fevrier 2005 portant reconnaissance de la Nation et contribution nationale en faveur des Francais rapatries in French Les principales prises de position concernant la loi du 23 fevrier 2005 Le Nouvel Observateur in French 2006 01 26 Archived from the original on 2008 09 29 Retrieved 2019 12 21 French Revisionism Case Of Positive Role Of French Colonisation The Cameroun Post 2005 12 18 France under pressure to defend its colonial past Agence France Presse 2005 12 08 History should not be written by law says Jacques Chirac Ce n est pas a la loi d ecrire l histoire quoted by RFI December 11 2005 1 in French Chirac revient sur le role positif de la colonisation in French RFI 2006 01 26 Debut d une dangereuse guerre des memoires Colonialism A Dangerous War of Memories Begin by Benjamin Stora L Humanite published 2005 12 06 January 17 2006 Archived from the original on 2007 01 13 Claude Liauzu June 2005 At war with France s past Le Monde diplomatique Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title French law on colonialism amp oldid 1166667290, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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