Introduction. Humour: a serious issue in contemporary France

Summary

The fatal attack on the offices of Charlie Hebdo in January 2015 provoked considerable debate in France about humour and freedom of expression, as well as topics such as humour and offensiveness, and the limits of humour. However, surprisingly little had previously been written about humour and national identity in a specifically French context. Within Anglophone studies of humour around the world, such as Christie Davies's iconic work The Mirth of Nations, references to humour in France generally concern ways in which the French have a tendency to tell jokes that mock the supposed stupidity of their Belgian and Swiss neighbours or the stinginess of inhabitants of the Auvergne region. However, such jokes are often relatively banal as they generally involve the mocking of neighbouring countries with whom France has not had a particularly antagonistic history. In the case of the Auvergnats's perceived meanness, a stereotypical behavioural trait is being mocked but not the extent to which the regions’ inhabitants are truly French.

When we examine humour within the context of the ethnic, racial, or religious diversity of French society, it can potentially be much less innocent if it involves stereotypes that reinforce hegemonic power relations. Although it can provide a means of challenging, or re-appropriating stereotypes, negotiating a way through issues surrounding immigration, diversity, and the legacies of colonialism can be a fraught process. Discussions of humour in France, as with so many other aspects of French society, are influenced by France's political culture, and the vocabulary utilized in such debates is often dictated by France's republican ideology. Within this context, for example, the concept of multiculturalism is seen as un-French due to being incompatible with Republican ideals of universality and the single and indivisible nation. However, recent decades have seen a questioning of the extent to which France really is a single and indivisible nation that is as egalitarian as it aspires to be. This has coincided with attempts by French governments to increasingly define national identity, and censure those who mock figures such as the President. Furthermore, these developments have occurred against the backdrop of increasingly intense debates about immigration and integration in a post 9/11 context.