Imagin(IN)g Racial France: Take 1 — KaKuDji
On Bastille Day 2010, a contingent of Dahomey amazons trotted down the Champs-Elysées. In their wake, soldiers from fourteen African nations made an appearance on the self-styled plus belle avenue du monde (most beautiful avenue in the world). Le Monde itself provided advance notice, with full-color front-page close-ups of what many suspect were two top models standing in for continental men in arms — one brown-skinned, the other beige, lest readers fail to remember that the French colonial presence extended to both sides of the Sahara. Numerous photographs of the parade appear on the Elysée’s official Web site, with a helpful caption:
14 pays africains qui célèbrent cette année le cinquentenaire de leurs indépendances [ont] participé au défilé militaire. A travers cette invitation, le Président de la République a voulu exprimer la reconnaissance de la Nation aux soldats venus des anciennes colonies, qui ont combattu pour notre liberté.
[Fourteen African countries, all celebrating half a century’s independence, participated in the military parade. This invitation by the president was meant to express the nation’s gratitude to soldiers hailing from France’s colonies of yore, who fought for our freedom.]1
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Notes
- “Défilé militaire du 14 juillet 2010,” Elysée Présidence de la République, www.elysee.fr/president/ mediatheque/photos/phototheque.248.html (accessed July 15, 2010).
