Remembering a regretful history

Today marks Slavery Remembrance Day in France. Created this year, the holiday is the first of its kind in Europe and is viewed by many as another important step in France’s current dialogue with its African residents. Chirac announced the new holiday in January shortly after the weeks long rioting across the country by North African ...

Today marks Slavery Remembrance Day in France. Created this year, the holiday is the first of its kind in Europe and is viewed by many as another important step in France’s current dialogue with its African residents. Chirac announced the new holiday in January shortly after the weeks long rioting across the country by North African residents of the banlieues produced images like this one.

Today marks Slavery Remembrance Day in France. Created this year, the holiday is the first of its kind in Europe and is viewed by many as another important step in France’s current dialogue with its African residents. Chirac announced the new holiday in January shortly after the weeks long rioting across the country by North African residents of the banlieues produced images like this one.

Those riots have spawned a few important legislative changes, including the overturning of a controversial law mandating that French colonial history be given a positive spin when taught in public schools.  

To my mind these are just small efforts of what should be a larger initiative to reassess the French unicultural model of citizenship. Unlike many commentators, I don’t believe that the republican model of integration has failed, but I do think it requires some serious retooling to make it work in the contemporary context. Still, these small steps are good ones, and hopefully they will help create an environment where reforms can be made thoughtfully instead of reactively.

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