'Douce France' Growing Rough Around the Edges?
Résumé
In the first years of the 21st century the French discovered that legislating history is a dangerous business. Beginning with the Taubira Law of May 10, 2001, through to the French National Assembly vote of February 23, 2005, which recognized the positive role played by France in its former colonies, a law modified by the Constitutional Council a year later, this article establishes an interplay between these laws and the socio-political reality of the period.