Places and spaces of contested identity in the memorials and monuments of Paris

Abstract

ABSTRACT Paris claims to stand for the whole of France, and sometimes the whole Francophone world. A heavy responsibility therefore lies upon it to represent Francophone identity in the best possible way. Through looking at ways of remembering and memorialising events in French history, we can see the extent to which this is, and has been, successful over time. This article analyses a selection of Parisian monuments and sites of memory through a framework of memory studies and cultural memory, notably Pierre Nora and the postcolonial critique of his work, to investigate the ways in which Francophone identity is manifested and contested in the capital city. The article presents and assesses the Catacombs, the Panthéon, the Mémorial des Martyrs de la Déportation, the Mémorial national de la guerre d’Algérie et des combats du Maroc et de la Tunisie, and the Place de la République, one of France’s longest-standing living memorials, to examine the expression of transnational or multifaceted Francophone identity, and the politics of memory through monuments and memorials.