好色先生TV

What does it mean to be French?

For us Anglophones, we might point to a refined culinary palate, impeccable fashion taste, an affinity for baked goods, a certain je ne sais quoi. But for the French, it comes down to three words.

France鈥檚 national motto 鈥� 鈥渓ibert茅, 茅galit茅, fraternit茅鈥� 鈥� is known to many. Embedded in these words is the belief that the fundamental rights of liberty, equality, and fraternity are universal to all French citizens.

Under this model, known as 鈥渦niversalism,鈥� one鈥檚 identity as a French citizen transcends race, ethnicity, gender and religion. Dual or hyphenated identities such as Afro-French, Arab-French, Chinese-French, etc., simply cannot, and do not, exist. Either one is, or is not, French; all French citizens are inherently equal.

Inspired by the Enlightenment and solidified with the birth of the French Republic in 1789, universalism remains, to this day, an . In a 2020 , President Emmanuel Macron of France reaffirmed the country鈥檚 commitment to universalism. He said, 鈥淥ur model is universalist, not multiculturalist [...] In our society, I don鈥檛 care whether someone is Black, yellow or white, whether they are Catholic or Muslim, a person is first and foremost a citizen.鈥�

But there is a growing movement challenging France鈥檚 staunch commitment to universalism. Leading the way is Mame-Fatou Niang, associate professor of French and Francophone studies at 好色先生TV. Niang, a Black woman who was born and raised in France, says the prevailing notion of French universalism is a myth.

鈥淵ou grow up in this myth 鈥� and it's an amazing myth 鈥� that everybody is equal,鈥� she said. But France鈥檚 complex history, including centuries of slavery and colonialism, as well as more recent issues of Islamophobia, urban segregation (banlieues), and , calls into question the claim that France has achieved a truly egalitarian society.

Through her academic publications, talks, interviews, and films, Niang seeks to redefine universalism for the 21st century. She said universalism should not be considered an inflexible truth, but rather a constantly evolving concept that embraces and reflects the varied identities and experiences of French citizens.

鈥�2022 France is not 1789 France. Why do we have to live with rules that, even at the time, didn't make sense?鈥� Niang said.

A personal connection

Niang鈥檚 work is highly controversial. Critics have called her a racist and a traitor for daring to question what they consider to be unassailable French Republican values. But Niang remains steadfast in her mission, driven by a personal desire to assert her validity as an Afro-French woman.

鈥淕rowing up, there was one question that really haunted me: 'Where are you from?'鈥� said Niang. 鈥淭hey [really] wanted to know where my color is from, because Blackness is not seen as something that is naturally French.鈥�

Niang鈥檚 ancestors originated from Senegal, but she is the seventh generation of her family to be born and raised in France. Even so, her skin color means she was, and is, challenged about her Frenchness on a daily basis.

This constant need to prove her Frenchness was drilled into her from a young age. Niang grew up at a time when France was conducting raids and deportations in an attempt to reverse years of lax immigration policies. Although Niang and her sister were young鈥攋ust 12 and seven years old鈥攈er mother secured official identification papers as proof of their French citizenship, which she insisted they carry at all times.

鈥淪he was so scared that we would get caught by the police [...] and sent to Senegal or Mali,鈥� said Niang.

In high school, Niang would frequently be singled out by police as the sole Black person among her friends, while her peers remained unquestioned. For Niang, it was clear that 鈥渟omething was saying my presence in the group was not normal, and it needed to be constantly checked to prove I had the right to be there."

These experiences are the guiding light that has led Niang to her research. 鈥淚t's really a personal experience that got me studying this gap between the ideals we have of everybody being equal, and the reality,鈥� she said.

Reinventing universalism

France embraces universalism because it is a desirable ideal. To claim that French society can look past race, ethnicity, gender, and religion and see all citizens as equal is an appealing notion, which is why it still holds water with many French people today, over 200 years later.

In a , 63% of French citizens said that commitment to the French Republican ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity best defines 鈥渨hat it means to be French.鈥� Ninety percent said that 鈥渧alues of the French Republic鈥� play an important role in uniting the French. Yet membership to this community of 鈥渢he French鈥� is strictly guarded; this same survey found that 50% of respondents consider 鈥減eople of foreign origin (origine 茅trang猫re)鈥� a 鈥渢hreat to French identity.鈥�

This contradictory belief in equality for all, provided you belong to a certain group, is at the core of universalism. At its outset, universalism claimed to do away with inequality and discrimination, even though in 1789, slavery in France was legal (it would be abolished in 1794 and reinstated in 1802), women could not vote or own property, and France鈥檚 鈥淐ode noir鈥� and 鈥淐ode de l鈥檌ndig茅nat鈥� severely limited the rights of Black and indigenous peoples.

鈥淚t's mind-boggling that this thing that says that everybody is free from bondage exists with all these exceptions,鈥� said Niang.

The exceptions underpinning universalism continue to manifest in modern-day French society. Most notably, France has a long history of police brutality, particularly against people of color. In 1986, a French-Algerian student named was beaten to death by police officers while walking by a protest in Paris. In 2016, , a Black man, was arrested and later died under French police custody, a case that has . In 2017, 22-year old Th茅odore Luhaka was left disabled after a violent arrest. In January 2020, was killed after being pinned to the ground by French police. These incidents are all consequences of what Niang calls the 鈥渦niversalist myth,鈥� which continues to perpetuate the idea that only those who meet certain criteria are granted full equality and autonomy.

Niang is part of an ongoing movement that challenges the universalist myth. But unlike some of her peers, her goal is to redefine 鈥� not dismantle 鈥� universalism for the 21st century. Ultimately, she believes in the potential good of universalism.

鈥淎nything that has as its goal liberty, equality, and fraternity is something that needs to be saved,鈥� said Niang. But, she said, drawing a parallel with a software program, 鈥淲e have to go back and check the bug. We can't keep going on with the bug.鈥�

What distinguishes Niang鈥檚 universalism is its flexibility. In her 2022 book "," co-authored with Julien Suaudeau, Niang says universalism 鈥渟hould not be crystallized, but should rather be perceived as a fluid disposition, a dynamic work in progress never completed, always to be redesigned.鈥� The willingness to redefine universalism according to the realities of all French people, including their experiences as targets of discrimination, is essential to realize the universalist vision.

鈥淸Universalism] has never been attained,鈥� said Niang. 鈥淚t is ideals, it is goals, that need to be constantly reevaluated based on the society that we鈥檙e living in.鈥�

Collective amnesia and the role of museums

Because universalism is so deeply entrenched in the French ethos, many of Niang鈥檚 critics equate any critique of universalism as a direct attack on the foundation of democracy and the French Republic.

鈥淲e now see this movement where people say, 鈥榦ur culture is under siege, we have to protect it,鈥�' said Niang. 鈥淭hey have taken universalism and 鈥榤useified鈥� it. It becomes this stuck thing that can't move, that won't move, that cannot be changed, and anybody who wants change is a danger.鈥�

This strong reaction is the result of what Niang refers to as 鈥渃ollective amnesia,鈥� in which many French citizens simply are not taught about the country鈥檚 problematic past.

鈥淲e just don鈥檛 learn about slavery [in France],鈥� said Niang. 鈥淭he reason people ask me where I'm from is that there's nothing, literally nothing, in our history books, in the way streets are named, in statues, that explains how someone who looks like me ever contributed.鈥�

As a result, many French citizens espouse universalism as a core principle of the Republic while remaining ignorant of the ways in which France not only denied basic rights to marginalized people, but erased their contributions to the country. Niang calls this the 鈥渋nnocence of not knowing,鈥� a consequence of the shortcomings of the French educational curriculum.

By undoing this collective amnesia through education, Niang says that French citizens can begin to better understand the reality of the Black experience in France over the last 400 years. This 鈥渦nveiling鈥� of truth is a necessary step to not only achieve a contemporary version of universalism that validates and recognizes the experiences of minorities in France, but move towards a France where race and other identities are seen as important contributors to the country鈥檚 history.

To this end, part of Niang鈥檚 work is assessing and collaborating with European museums to ensure that the history of Black people in Europe as a whole 鈥� including slavery and colonialism 鈥� are fully represented.

鈥淚f you think about the importance of the museum in the construction of French and European identity, it's absolutely one of the places where we have to work,鈥� said Niang. Her work will result in a ranking of European museums鈥� efforts to update and, in Niang鈥檚 parlance, 鈥渄ecolonize鈥� their exhibits; she presented her findings at the first session of the at the United Nations in December 2022.

Niang says one of the most positive results of her efforts is that conversations are happening. 鈥淭hese are conversations that were impossible 20 years ago, or 10 years ago, or 鈥� in the case of France 鈥� five years ago,鈥� she said. 鈥淛ust the fact that the conversation is happening, it gives you a lot of hope.鈥�

鈥淭here's nothing, literally nothing, in our history books, in the way streets are named, in statues, that explains how someone who looks like me ever contributed.鈥�

The train of truth

Niang recognizes there is still a long way to go before France fully embraces a new understanding of universalism; there are still many resistant to change. But she has made her peace with this.

Drawing from her African roots, Niang has adopted a philosophy of 鈥渢rusting a long time,鈥� or trusting in the inevitability of change over centuries. For Niang, 鈥淭he train of truth has left the station.鈥�

鈥淢y truth is that I think the train has left, and whether people want to get on the train or not is up to them. I can't force them,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou can't save people beyond how they want to save themselves.鈥�

Instead of focusing on her critics, Niang invests her efforts in helping those receptive to change. In addition to her academic publications, Niang also creates films, apps and other artifacts that tell the stories of Black people in France, to help 鈥済et the word out in as many ways as possible.鈥澨�

In 2017, she co-directed, produced, and edited the film "," a documentary featuring seven French-born women of African and Caribbean descent. She has also helped develop Verso, a tourism app that unveils the contribution of Black people to some of Paris鈥� most famous monuments. This is the work that is most meaningful to Niang.

鈥淚 love it when I see my 13-year-old niece and nephew watch my film or show my app to their friends, because I think that my research answers questions I had when I was that age,鈥� Niang said. 鈥淲hy am I in this country? Where am I from? Do I belong?鈥�

Niang continues to blaze a trail in the academic sphere, but she is most focused on the impact that her work will have on those who share her experience.

鈥淚t's really about when I see my teenage niece reading this, and it shows her that she belongs.鈥�

The English translation of "Universalisme" (2022) by Mame-Fatou Niang and Julien Suaudeau is forthcoming.