Still French? France and the Challenge of Diversity, 1985-2015 (Nottingham French Studies Volume 54, Number 3)

In a provocative 1985 cover story featuring the face of Marianne obscured by an Islamic veil, Le Figaro Magazine asked: "Serons-nous encore français dans trente ans?". With those thirty years now spanned, where does France stand in relation to the fears, challenges and opportunities associated with changing perceptions of ethnic and cultural diversity within and beyond the nation’s borders? Is the France of 2015 still French in the same way or to the same degree as the France of 1985? Where do the most significant challenges to "Frenchness" now lie? In Islamism? In the "banlieues"? In European integration? In American hegemony? Is "Frenchness" itself, championed by political elites under the banner of "l’exception culturelle", an outmoded concept, destined to wither in the face of transnational forces? These are among the issues addressed by contributors to this volume, spanning a wide range of topics and disciplinary approaches including politics, literature, film and sport.