French Republicanism Must Rework Itself: Literary Signposts and a Call for Social Action in Banlieue Literature

The Charlie Hebdo tragedy unveiled the tender points of citizenship in France.  Young French “others” frequently reimagine themselves  as being a part of the body politic through sports. Sporting events have been frequently associated with expressions of national identity or solidarity and oftentimes act as a way to express ‘who is French and who is not’. This perceived democratic milieu, however, doesn’t properly demonstrate the realities of many racially and ethnically ‘marked’ bodies within the urban Hexagon, concealed under the cloak of French republicanism.  This particular genre of governing has been called into question and has been asked to refashion or renegotiate its relevance to the social realities of contemporary French society in the face of multiculturalism. This view has been articulated by a number of figures in the political and public arena, resulting in a belief that “France must rethink itself” according to French sociologist Michel Wieviorka. Through a discourse analysis of banlieue literature including Thomté Ryam’s Banlieue Noire, Rachid Djaidani’s Viscéral, and Mabrouck Rachedi’s Le poids d’une âme, this essay will unveil the problematic points of French Republicanism vis-à-vis ‘markedness’ in banlieue literature using Paris extramuros as a reference point. Equally, this essay will demonstrate how the marked body is denied disembodiment on the one hand, and how the very same body can also be a site of protest or subjectivity formation via performativity. Moreover, this paper seeks to demonstrate how these narratives act as signposts for France to “reinvent” itself thus showing the resilience of French Republicanism.