Email
me: Bertrand.taithe@man.ac.uk
In Algeria there was a combination of the last major insurrection against French occupation until WWII and the enfranchising of the North African Jews. The insurrection in Algeria stressed the tensions between republican ideals and colonial practices. On the one hand but it also gave the opportunity to look at the manner in which newly enfranchized citizens chose to make their statements through the creation of National Guard units. In Algeria of course the religious dimensions of citizenship were most stridently expressed and Islam, second religion of a greater France plays an important part and adds to the picture described by Philip Nord in his Republican moment. In Paris and the provinces the national guard served several purposes beyond the objective of national defence, they distributed help, codified social relations, through their conseils de famille they provided food employment and could make or break elected officers, lobby the local authorities or even the government. In archival terms the sources are difficult to find and often fragmentary and yet the elements left prove that these were vital missions which through a game of exchange and honour, gift and participation structured citizenship values in the local context. Apart from men aged 20 to 40, I am also interested in other members of society, women, in charge or armament making, leading insurrection or children symbolically associated to civic work in many places or old people who also played an important part in veteran associations throughout the war and the commune. Foreigners also left stranded and turned into refugees during the war (German citizens, British visitors).