2023-11-02 00:24:33
The creation of a museum dedicated to colonization in France is an old idea that regularly comes up in public debate. Supported for several years by historians such as Nicolas Bancel and Pascal Blanchard, this proposition finds renewed resonance in an article in Le Monde on October 30. According to the two researchers, such a museum would make it possible to advance collective reflection on this crucial episode in the history of France, which still remains largely hidden in the public space.
However, colonial history is increasingly present in academic work and social debates. But positions remain polarized between supporters of a nostalgic vision of the past and supporters of a radical decolonial reading. “No one today disputes the importance of this five-century-long history,” the daily underlines. But at the same time, France appears to be a bad student compared to its European neighbors when it comes to the preservation and transmission of this complex memory.
Belgium, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands… Many former colonial powers have in recent years set up museum structures and historical commissions to explore this little-known part of their national identity. In France, despite Emmanuel Macron’s speech calling colonization a “crime once morest humanity”, little has actually changed. Although reports have been produced on specific episodes, no large-scale museum has emerged to put the whole of this centuries-old history into perspective.
Worse, public debate on the necessity or not of such a project is lacking, unlike in other countries. “Our country is now lagging behind the initiatives of other former colonial metropolises in this area,” notes Le Monde. However, millions of French people have a direct link with this period, whether they are repatriates, harkis, from overseas or from postcolonial immigration. So many memories and identities that have long been underestimated.
For historians, building a museum of colonization would “put antagonistic memories into perspective” and avoid “polarization between nostalgics and radical decolonials.” It would also be regarding “integrating into history the millions of people who feel excluded from it”. More broadly, such a project would contribute to “rethinking our national novel” in the light of this long-obscured page. By opening the debate with all the stakeholders concerned, it would be part of an educational and unifying approach.
It remains to be seen whether France will finally be ready to take on this memorial and historical challenge, at a time when the International City of the French Language is opening. For the moment, despite the speeches, the taboo persists on this part of the national past. However, the article concludes, “if we are capable of building this city, we must imagine this museum. Otherwise, the colonial page cannot be turned.”
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