RE-IMAGINING BROTHERHOOD: Republican Values and Representations of Nationhood in a Diversifying France

Abstract

In late October 2009, French President Nicolas Sarkozy directed one of his cabinet members to organize a large-scale nationwide “debate” on national identity. Announced and directed by Eric Besson, the minister of immigration, integration, and national identity, the debate aimed to address “the values of national identity” and what “it is to be French” and took place in public forums across the country (L’Express, 2009).