ABSTRACT
One of the most enduring legacies of the French Revolution has been the Jacobin doctrine of the unity and indivisibility of the nation. Under this doctrine, intermediaries of all kinds – religious, territorial, professional, and cultural – have been rejected as destructive of the direct connection between the people and the state. It is no wonder that French republican tradition has had some difficulty in accepting the concept of “ethnonational minority.” Officially, France does not acknowledge the existence of minorities on its soil; this is particularly true of ethnic groups, which have been regarded as basic forms of social organization in traditional societies rather than modern ones. The designation “national” applies to the citizens of France as an indivisible political community. If the term “ethnic” is used here, it is to refer to a concrete reality: social groups that are defined by characteristics that are neither “tribal” nor necessarily political. Ethnic “origins” are accepted; ethnic existential identity is not – at least not yet completely.
