In four months, France will host the Paris Olympics, but which France will participate? Torn between tradition and modernity, the country is in the midst of an identity crisis.
French-Malian superstar singer Aya Nakamura, whose slang-flavored lyrics are far from academic French, may be chosen to perform at the opening ceremony, which touches on issues of race, linguistic etiquette, and immigration policy. The commotion ignited. Right-wing critics say Nakamura's music is not representative of France, and her prospect of performing has sparked a barrage of racist insults against her online. . The Paris public prosecutor's office has launched an investigation.
The protests further exacerbated a dispute over an official poster released this month. The poster is a pastel depiction of a busy city's landmarks, in a lively style reminiscent of Where's Wally? Children's books.
Right-wing critics say that in a sea of luscious, impeccable blandness, most evident in the removal of the cross atop the golden dome of Invalides, the former military hospital where Napoleon was hospitalized. It attacks this image as a deliberate dilution of the French nation and its history. he was buried. An editorial published in the right-wing newspaper Journal du Dimanche said the “depression of a nation in the midst of disintegration” was on full display.
The Olympics' rapid involvement in France's culture wars began with a meeting between President Emmanuel Macron and 28-year-old Nakamura at the Elysée Palace on February 19th. Macron, who is also the artistic director of the Olympics, asked: She will appear.
Nakamura is France's most popular singer both domestically and internationally, with 25 top 10 singles in France and over 20 million followers on social media. Born Aya Danioko in Bamako, Mali, she took her stage name from a character on the NBC science fiction series “Heroes.” Raised in her Parisian suburbs, she mixes her French lyrics with Arabic, English and Bambara, her parents' Mali language, in her songs, which weave R&B, zouk and Afropop rhythms. It is a mixture of West African dialects such as
“This is not a pretty symbol. This is another provocation by Emmanuel Macron. He has to wake up every morning and think about how he can humiliate the French people,” said the far-right National Rally. said Marine Le Pen, party leader. Speaking to France Interradio.He hinted at the possibility of Nakamura's choice. She argued that although Nakamura was not French, she was singing in a language “that no one understands” and was unfit to represent her country.
Nakamura declined interview requests and has not publicly addressed the controversy other than several posts on social media. At X she answered: In response to the “It's okay to be racist, but it doesn't mean you're deaf” attack. The singer, who became a naturalized citizen in 2021, has dual citizenship in France and Mali. But in a country often uneasy about its changing demographics – becoming more diverse, less white, and perhaps questioning the French model of erasing identity and assimilation in an undifferentiated citizenship. –, she stands at the crossroads.
“There is an identity panic,” says Rokaya Diallo, a French writer, filmmaker and activist. “I think France doesn't want to see itself as it really is,” Diallo said, citing soccer star Kylian Mbappé and Nakamura. “White France doesn't look like it did 30 years ago. “I feel threatened,” he said.
Diallo added that Nakamura was being held to an unfair standard because of his background. “Her linguistic creativity would be seen as incompetence, not artistic talent,” she said, because if she focused only on an artist's lyrics, she would not be able to see the original music of her songs. This is because gender is ignored.
The eldest of five children, Nakamura is also a single mother of two children. He was born into a family of griots, traditional West African musicians and storytellers. “My whole family sings,” she told Le Monde newspaper in 2017. “But I was the only one who dared to sing seriously.”
There are few overt political messages in her music. She told The New York Times in 2019, “I'm happy if my songs speak for themselves.” However, she also said that she is aware of her own position as a feminist role model. Her lyrics are often her ode to liberated women who are firmly in control of their lives and unashamed of their sexuality.
“At the beginning of my career, I was quite skeptical about the idea of this model,” Nakamura told marketing and public relations trade publication CB News in December. “But that's the reality. I have an impact. If through my work and my efforts, I've empowered certain women to assert themselves, then that makes me proud.”
The uproar over her possible appearance reflects the collapse of France. Some see it as a reactionary state trying to ignore how mass immigration, particularly from North Africa, has enriched the modern host country of the 33rd Summer Olympics. Celebrities, left-wing politicians and government officials support the idea that Nakamura will play a key role in the ceremony.
Others, particularly on the right, see multicultural France concealing its Christian roots and even the nation itself, especially with the removal of the cross from the dome of Invalides and the absence of a single French flag on official posters. I see you are trying. Mild pinks, purples, and greens are preferred over the bold blues, whites, and reds of France.
“Every time the world looks at us, it gives the impression that we don't accept ourselves as we are,” Marion Marechal, Le Pen's niece and leader of the far-right party Réconquet, said on French television last week. Told.
Then there's the question of language here, with the Académie Française founded in 1634 to spread and protect the French language. As one of the 40 member states once put it, they have taken upon themselves the task of protecting this country from “brainless globish”, even if success diminishes as France succumbs to the world of “entrepreneurs” If they do, they do so with enthusiasm.
“France has a kind of language religion,'' says linguist and author Julien Barrett. He has written an online glossary of languages prevalent in the banlieues where Nakamura grew up. “French identity is being confused with the French language,” he added, adding that this amounts to “purity worship.”
That so-called purity is long gone. France's former African colonies are increasingly injecting their own expressions into their languages. Singers and rappers who grew up in immigrant families coined new terms. “You can't write a song like you would write a school project,” Barrett says.
Nakamura's dance floor hits include an eclectic mix of French argotes, like verlan, which reverses the order of the syllables. A West African dialect like Nouchi in Ivory Coast. Innovative phrases, sometimes nonsensical, spread quickly.
In 2018's smash hit and anthem of female empowerment, “Djadja,” she sings, “I'm not yours,” accusing a man of lying about sleeping with her. Katyn,” using the centuries-old French term for prostitute. It has been streamed approximately 1 billion times.
Another widely popular song is “Pookie.” Pookave, A slang term for a traitor or rat that originates from the Romani language.
During the meeting with Macron, which was first revealed in the magazine L'Express, the president asked Nakamura which French singer she liked. Her response was Edith Piaf, the legendary artist who famously died in 1963 and she regretted nothing.
So Mr. Macron suggested to Mr. Nakamura — in a statement that the president had no objections to — that they sing Piaf at the opening of the Olympics.
This idea is still under consideration.
For some, Ms. Nakamura, channeling Piaf, may be the perfect homage to Piaf's immortal Parisian romantic love hymn, “La Vie en Rose.” Bruno Lemaire, economy minister and occasional author of erotic novels, said it would show “dignity” and “audacity”. Supporters point out that both singers grew up in poverty and have immigrant backgrounds.
However, a recent opinion poll found that 63% of French people disapprove of Macron's ideas, even though about half of respondents said they only knew Nakamura by name.
Nakamura has previously faced criticism for his music in France, where expectations for assimilation are high. Some on her right complain that although she became French, she showed more interest in her African roots and American role models.
She responded to critics about her music on French television in 2019, saying, “At the end of the day, it speaks to everyone.”
“You don't understand,” she added. “But you sing.”
The buzz surrounding the Olympics doesn't seem to be subsiding anytime soon. A commentator on France Inter Radio said: “France doesn't have oil, but we do have arguments. In fact, we almost deserve a gold medal for that.”
