From Algerie Fran?aise to France Musulmane: Jacques Soustelle and the Myths and Realities of ‘Integration’, 1955–1962

摘要

This article explores the rise and fall of the notion of intégration as a means of resisting pressure for decolonization in Algeria, focusing on the work of Jacques Soustelle, the eminent ethnologist and Gaullist politician who was Governor-General in Algeria from 1955 to 1956. Soustelle’s integration plan was a vision developed in Algeria, and its diffusion in France and adoption by a number of diverse groups in the metropole can be seen as an important case of Algerian influence on French political and intellectual life. The network of Algérie française sympathizers and movements which adopted integration as their watchword is examined, demonstrating how integration took on almost mythical qualities and appealed to figures from across the political spectrum. The article also suggests that integration can be seen as a contribution to our understanding of the role that a vision of a multiracial and multicultural greater France played in the policy and rhetoric of some advocates of Algérie française.