Image courtesy of L'équipe
Zineddine Zidane, the French footballer of Algerian origin has recently visited the Algerian training camp in Southern France to support the team after spending his career as a French player. His visit comes at a time when he is sharply criticising the French team and its sub-optimal performance in the qualification stages. He still commands the respect and affinity of both peoples across the Mediterranean. Zidane is among a rare breed in this regard: Zidane’s coming to peace with his dual Algerian French identity was not easy. Events that happened during his career highlight the long held question that has yet to be answered for good: what is an Algerian-French and can there be one?
The two countries, Algeria and France, are not strangers to enmity. After a bitterly fought war and 132 years of colonialism, Algerian gained its independence amid cries of triumphalism and anti-French feelings. There were nuggets of Algerians who identified themselves as French throughout that era, Ferhat Abbas declared that “France is me” in 1936 as he tried to theorise a framework where a civilised Algeria is part of France, but he abandoned that route and joined the resistance later in despair. Some Algerians fought with the French against Nazi Germany forces in WWII and gained French citizenship along with a few who were accepted as part of a naturalisation scheme. Thousands of Algerians fled the country in the aftermath of the war, dubbed “Harkis”: Algerians who collaborated with the French against the resistance.
Harkis were considered the lowest form of life by Algerians after Independence, and they struggled in France, forming the bulk of “les banlieus”: deprived ghettos where poverty and unemployment run rife. Zidane was born in such an environment in Marseille, so he suffered greatly in his early life as a French. His parents were accused of being Harkis (Harki is the ultimate street insult in Algeria today), a charge he had to live with and vehemently deny for many years during his career.
Today, Harkis and other Algerian dwellers of les banlieues still live with the lost feeling of not being French enough to get jobs and opportunities. Algerian immigrants and their sons are still the favourite target for French politicians: current president Sarkozy infamously described them as “filth”. The current “debate” about “French values” is seen by many as a charge against these people. Recently a minister declared that “Muslims should dress better, find jobs and stop using slang and wearing baseball caps backward.” . For many French Algerians it seems that nothing they can do can change this treatment: Rumours ran wild when it was suspected that Jacque Chiraq, the then French president, only coldly shook hands with Zidane after the world cup win of 1998: supposedly Chiraq wanted to send a signal. During his career, Zidane was always a favourite target of Jean-Marie Le Pen’s Front National: The French team is not French enough, they would routinely charge.
Across the pond, culturally Algeria is still very much tied to France. Algerian literature is bilingual, and for many years the French side was arguably winning. The administration still uses French as the main language despite years of Arabisation efforts and laws, a fact easily verifiable by surveying the current government websites. France remains the favourite destination of Algerian intellectuals. Yet, the issue of Algerians who hold the French citizenship remains a hot populist issue in Algerian politics: there is a feeling that they shouldn’t be trusted or given high civil posts. Others, like the former Algerian prime minister Abdelhamid Brahimi conjure that Algeria has been ruled by a “French cultural army” that was prepared an implanted before France left Algeria, and that this army keeps the country under French influence.
So it seems that in both countries the dual Algerian-French identity has repeatedly been a victim to a bloody history and decades of populism, chauvinism and sometimes outright fascism and racism. When in France, few Algerian-French openly celebrate their Algerian ancestry in their professional life, when in Algeria, an even fewer number admit that they hold French passports. This affects a large number of people: on paper, there is no shortage of people who hold or who are entitled to a dual Algerian French dual citizenship. There are 3 million by some estimates.
But there is hope that this seemingly contradictory identity can be some day fully accepted at least in Algeria. In the current Algerian football team that Zidane visited, nearly all of the players hold a second citizenship, mostly French. Top team players who became household names after the recent qualification to the world cup, such as Ziani, Antar Yahia and Matmour, were all born and raised in France. Perhaps Football will be the venue through which Algeria will learn to accept that Algerians who live in France can be a great asset in their efforts towards modernisation and development.
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June 30, 2010 at 11:50
Naima
Hello, I was born and live in south east France of Algerian parents (not harkis), so please allow me to share some insights about how many french Algerian of non harki background feel about that issue.
Basically, for the most part you’re wrong.
Most of us see ourselves as “Français de papiers” only, and ownership of the Algerian passport is fairly common. Unless you lived in France, you cannot understand what it’s like to be a bougnoule de la république, discrimination against North Africans here is very REAL, and accepted by mainstream society.
Only a sellout or a neo harki would call themselves French.
(Everything also applies to Moroccans and Tunisians). Honestly, where Algeria is concerned, nothing good can come out of France and it’s time to erase French culture from North Africa.
July 13, 2010 at 11:05
MM BENDOU
Dear Naima Azullfellawen
You are wrong, and once again the evil who is making you greater than the other race is eaching your soul, the Amazigh existed before the christ in north africa, what so called Numedia(La numidie) only because you arabe of origine you want the berber share this with you, as a measure for a human and humanity, a mobe who don’t know his history and origines, is like a tree without root.
Also a life under the so called a false muslim governement who is the actual ruler in algeria, brock the tie that existed between the berber and the arabes in algeria, espicially with the killing of 200,000 of algerians, and killing the youth amazigh, fighting for the right cause, of beeingness and the right for the freedom(Anyway the history showed that the amazigh fighted always for thier freedom and also day for it) go and read the history of what you are calling Algeria.
The history also showed way the arabes exicted in algeria, the only cause is islam, how many invasions muslims, they never brok the amazigh walls, who killed the Martyre Okba ibnu Nafaa, the Kahina, only when she understood the religion, she accepted it and here first son kousaila he welcomed islam in algeria, the history showed what the nation of islam done in the devlopment of europe and the traces of muslim civilisation left in Andalousia. ETC…
But know look at what the so called mghrebia has become, all the nations of the world are laughing at. because why of the injustice that regnied in the region, implementing the racial heatering.
I f we look at your great Algeria, why we don’t have jews in our country why we don’t have christian in our country do you thinck that was right,
A nation who lived under the darkest doctrine of one your ancectors, shame on you, how could you say that it’s a time to get read of the French culture from north africa, oh yeh i understand, you mean we should replace it by your idiology. Please stop showing your nerdick national side.
You know it’s a shame to say that you extermely darkened, blinded by those you are listen to. you have nothing to say only it a time to erase a french culture from north africa, french culture as islamic culture is a part of the noth african, it’s a historical heritage that no one on earth can take off, only God. perhaps belongs to those who have no conscience about what happening in Algeria, my self i got my personal love story with your governement. I thinck you do have a link with some parent who sucked some algerian blood like, and took a lump of money that why you are so nationalist.
Berber are the ligitimate nation of the north african territories, we are a nation who like and tolerat to live together with other nations, and share all what we have with them, and vise versa, we like to live with jews, christians, chines, muslims, all etc..
Bebers (Amazigh) don’t have this complexity, as you do, i don’t know why? Do some seriouse reading, also try to clean the differences that polluted you brain, you are only a human being who is invited on earth for short time period, then you should shear the world with other. I’m affaraid you cannot live alone on earth isolated. and the division cames only fron the vanity.
The big problem i don’t see no french in Algeria, no Islam the truly islam in algeria.Perhaps you forgot we are in 2010. and your beloved Algerian bastard governoment is killing his own nation in a name of Islam, you know your governement is not a muslim, is not a christian, is not jewish, is not atheist, has no idiology, taking pupil life when he want, any time he want, randomly like that. all algerians are kicked out from the country. And the ones who are thier, abviously they are in temporay liberty. I’m sure if they do have enough places in the prisons they will put them all in jail.
This is fantastic. Yeh let get read of the French culture form North africa.
You need all the nations on earth. not only French. despit a french culture is a part of algerian culture. by the way what are you doing in france.
Before saying anything we need to think.
Bertrand Russel says in his book(The Ghost of Madness)
Je peut bien l’ecrire en francais si vous avey des diffecultees a comprendre se text pour Miss Naima. The New Boumedienisme-enough. tell me in which planet are you living Miss Naima
December 28, 2011 at 21:54
Djabali
Reply to Naima,
You’ve got it spot on (100%).
I too was born in France too -Not from a harki family-,
I realised in 1975 that Algerians where wasting their lives in that racist ” so called civilised country. I am in titled to a french passport but if I had it I would hang it in the toilets. I never apllied for it and never will.. So at the age of 18 I left that ignorant dump.
ERADICAT ANYTHING FRENCH IN ALGERIA. Well said Nai
January 15, 2012 at 14:54
research
I am pretty sure that the French Algerian Complex in France is not greater than the simple algerian complex identity.