Black-Blanc-Beur: multi-coloured Paris

Abstract

Until the final quarter of the twentieth century, the black presence in Paris was far more visible than that of Arabs or North Africans. Since the mid-1970s, the tendency has been reversed, with North Africans generally overshadowing the Afro-Caribbean presence. After documenting this shift, this article explores relations between ‘Blacks’ and ‘Arabs’ in contemporary French society and culture. It suggests that while the changing demographics of mass migration to France are clearly among the factors contributing to this transformation, wider patterns of geopolitical and geocultural change have also been at work. The article shows that shared experiences of disadvantage and discrimination have not always resulted in a common cultural and/or political front among minority ethnic groups. While a ‘Black- Blanc-Beur’ trio of buddies is now a lieu commun of popular culture, competition between minority ethnic groups has often been in evidence in the political sphere.