“Paris Londres” at Musée national de l’Histoire de l’Immigration, Paris
Dedicated to crucial social questions, the Musée national de l’Histoire de l’Immigration (Museum of the History of Immigration) continues its series of exhibitions aiming to explore, through a rigorous scientific program, the various facets of immigration that have shaped the course of European history from the late 19th century to the present, including the age of colonialism. Great Britain and France, former colonial empires, have grappled with the effects of decolonization since the 1960s. Benjamin Stora, historian and the President of the Advisory Board of Palais de la Porte Dorée, sheds light on this subject. An exhibition not to be missed, in one of the most interesting buildings of Paris.
“Starting in the 1960s, France and Great Britain enjoyed a period of strong economic growth and recruited a workforce from their former colonies, notably for industries in decline and for the public service sector. The vulnerability of these immigrant populations contrasts with the benefits they brought to the consumer society. While the conflicts of decolonization were different for France and Great Britain (the Algerian War of Independence for one, the Partition of India for the other), the exhibition shows that these countries share a process by which they create imaginaries of immigration and of ‘return memories.’ The paradox is identical: these migrations are economically desired but politically repressed. The end of empire creates representations that share a fear of the other. The exhibition compares two urban histories whose paths are reversed. The relation between the center and the periphery leads to processes of impoverishment that are opposite: in London, segregation is visible in the city center, whereas in Paris, the suburbs are the spaces of various immigrant populations. These segregated zones of immigration would become the theater, from the 1960s, of revolts against poverty, violence, and discrimination. But, they are also alternative spaces animated by marginal artists, where underground cultures mix with immigrant cultures. In this respect, London precedes Paris by a decade. In London youth, defying the violence of their lives, create a militant character that defines music as its principal conduit to speak out against urban ills. We would have to wait until the end of the 1970s for Paris to follow suit. The exhibition ‘Paris-Londres: Music Migrations 1962-1989’ presents extensive historical research on the history of migrations for the first time, focusing on neighborhoods and daily life. Observing these infra-territories allows us to get away from generalizations and clichés.”
“Paris-Londres: Music Migrations 1962-1989.” Musée national de l’Histoire de l’Immigration, Paris. Through January 5, 2020.