Outline some of the key features of the way in which Camus depicts Franco-Algerian relations during the colonial period. To what extent do such visions of Algeria and Algerians continue to be reproduced in France today?

Résumé du document

Born and raised in colonized Algeria among the Algerian population but educated as a Frenchman by the French education system, Camus had always developed a specific vision of Algeria. Indeed, even if as a humanist he was against many excesses of French colonization, though he truly believed in French Algeria, the territory of his birth. However, he never saw the independence of Algeria, as he died in a car crash in 1960. Two years after his death, Algeria's independence was declared in the Evian Agreements. This event provoked an important change in the Franco-Algerian relations. Though some of Camus's visions have disappeared according to the evolution of the situation Forty-six years after the Evian Agreements, some of them can still be found in France today even though the actual debates are more about questions of memory and identity.

Extraits

[...] (1997). “Camus's Algeria: Birthrights, Colonial Injustice, and the Fiction of a French-Algerian People” Modern Language Notes September, pp. 517-549. Chaulet-Achour, C. (1999). Albert Camus, Alger: ‘L'Etranger' et autres récits. Paris: Séguier. Cherfaoui, Z. & Fayçal, M. (2007). “Entretien avec Nicolas Sarkozy au sujet des relations France-Algérie”, Retrived May from http://www.afrik.com/article12093.html Dine, P. [...]

[...] (1994). Images of the Algerian War: French Fiction and Film 1954- 1962. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Drake, D. (2002). Intellectuals and politics in post-war France. London: Palgrave. Ferrari, L. (Writer & Presenter), (2005). Crise des Banlieues” In R. Namias (Producer), Sept à Huit. [...]

[...] For example, the Algerian Foreign Affairs Minister (Mourad Medelci) came in France on November and the French Foreign Affairs Minister (Bernard Kouchner) came in Algeria on May At the cultural level, France promoted the Algerian culture in France in 2003 which was 'the year of Algeria' with more than four-thousand cultural projects (exhibitions, concerts, intellectual meetings Moreover, Nicolas Sarkozy officially recognized the importance of "renforcer l'enseignement de l'Arabe en France" (Cherfaoui & Fayçal, 2007). At the economic level, France is the first economic partner of Algeria and Algeria is the first commercial partner of France in Africa. Furthermore, Algeria benefits from the most important amount of money given by the APD (Aide Publique au Développement) and France needs Algeria for energetic reasons (petrol and gas). This partnership "marque l'engagement de la France à construire avec l'Algérie une relation nouvelle, confiante et durable" (Ministères des Affaires Etrangères, 2007). [...]

[...] This fear could be interpreted as the sigh of the weakness of the Algerian population in front of the superiority of French settlers. Moreover, in numerous Camus's writings, the Arab characters were depicted as threatening or dangerous. Thus, in La Femme Adultère, the Arabs had a threatening gaze which made Janine feel uncomfortable; in L'Etranger, Meursault killed the Arab because “l'Arabe a tire son couteau qu'il m'a présenté dans le soleil” (Camus p.94); and in L'Hôte, the Arab is a murderer who tué le cousin d'un coup de serpe. [...]

[...] Moreover, there are numerous Centres Culturels Français in Algeria: in Algiers (open in January 2000), in Annaba and Oran (open in March 2002), in Constantine (open in May 2005) and in Tlemcen (open in September 2006). It is important for France to maintain its cultural presence in Algeria. It is a way to maintain its previous superiority even if the situation has evolved. However, it is also important to point out that numerous Beurs have an important place in French cultural landscape today. [...]