Norah Bouhacene (46) in the sun on a rock of the Vallon des Auffes. Marseille, France. May 15, 2022.
Norah is an educator, but she also went through the army where she felt she was the "bougnoule" on duty. The youngest of 16 children, she was born in France to Algerian parents, and feels above all a Marseillaise. "Algeria, for me, is my mother", it is her common thread, the link with the country where Norah does not necessarily have very good memories. However, for the past 3 years, she has held dual nationality, to avoid visa problems, in particular to accompany her mother who wishes to rest in Algeria when the time comes.
"In France you can be Franco-anything, there is no problem, but as soon as it is Franco-Maghrebian, it is not possible. France and Algeria according to Norah, it's I love you, I love you not.
View of an old restaurant "l'Oranais" now closed in the rue d'Aubagne in Marseille, France. May 18, 2022. ___ France
Late afternoon on a rock in the Vallon des Auffes. Marseille, France. May 15, 2022. Following the steps of Norah Bouhacene in "her" Marseille, we arrive on this rock, where she knows everyone. "The rock of the Algerians" she says laughing. Here, everyone has a link with Algeria, by one or both parents, by birth. Marseille France
Marthe Helene Choukroun (right) and her son Salvador (left) on the balcony of the family home. Montpellier, France. May 9, 2022. Marthe-helene Choukroun was sent to France after the death of her mother (while her brothers remained in Algeria). Atheist, it is to her that must return "the tray of the ancestors", rabins in Algeria, even if she has always sought an alternative to receive this gift heavy with tradition. It has finally traveled with her many lives to Paris, Ecuador, and then to Montpellier, where it is kindly forgotten. It is always there somewhere but we never really know where it is. It is when we talk about it, when we wonder where it is, when we look for it, then confuse it with another one brought back from Morocco, that it appears.
The tray of the Jewish Easter, family object of the rabbinic ancestors of Marthe-helene Choukroun. Montpellier, France. May 9, 2022. Atheist, it is to her that must return "the tray of the ancestors", rabins in Algeria, even if she has always sought an alternative to receive this gift heavy with tradition. It has finally traveled with her many lives to Paris, Ecuador, and then to Montpellier, where it is kindly forgotten. It is always there somewhere but we never really know where it is. It is when we talk about it, when we wonder where it is, when we look for it, then confuse it with another one brought back from Morocco, that it appears. Montpellier France
A curtain for sale, in the sun, in the alleys of the flea market of Marseille, France. May 15, 2022. The Flea Market is full of objects related to the culture of the Maghreb but also culinary stands, which give to these alleys a particular atmosphere. Marseille France
An archive of "French Africa" is on display at the National Documentation Center of the French of Algeria. Perpignan, France. June 26, 2022: Visit during the 43rd National Congress of the Cercle Algérianiste, in Perpigan, France. The Cercle Algérianiste, created in 1973, gathers a large majority of pieds-noirs, and has as its mission, among others and according to their terms, "to protest against the official history of the French presence in Algeria as presented by those who forced us into exile and to give a new vigor to the "Algerian-French" community, in order to re-establish our faith. In Perpignan they work closely with the "Centre National de Documentation des Français d'Algérie" and the new municipal team of Perpignan, led by the Mayor of the Rassemblement National Louis Alliot. Perpignan France
Emilie Belafkih poses for a portrait in her living room, in Roganc, Bouches-du-Rhône, France. April 26, 2022. She is 39 years old, a company manager in transportation and furnished apartment rentals and lives today with her husband and children. Daughter of a black foot, Algeria for her is a buried identity, a kind of hereditary suffering that we do not understand. Something that transpires within the family but without real transmission. In spite of this, she feels a deep attraction, from a very young age, for this country, a culture. Imagination or real attachment? She will experience it personally in 2018 during her first trip, accompanied by her father. Years of silence that suddenly found the words to express themselves, to feel. This trip is the apotheosis of a personal and intimate journey, on the fringe of the pied-noir entourage and of what sometimes qualifies as an inherited racism, in the community she frequents. From the little girl of 8 years old in search of meaning, wearing a "French Algeria" pin, she gradually became interested in the Arabic language thanks to the grocer of her neighborhood who acts as a teacher, and began reading the Koran, before converting to Islam in 2009. Rognac France
A lighter in the image of Marseille, France. May 18, 2022. Marseille France
French people born in Oran touch the Virgin of Santa Cruz before she goes on pilgrimage. The sanctuary of Our Lady of Santa Cruz is located in the district of Mas de Mingue, in Nimes. It was built between 1968 and 1969 and since 1965, on Ascension Day, it has been the site of a pilgrimage of Blackfoot people from the region of Oran in Algeria, where the original shrine was built in the 19th century in response to the plague that ravaged the region. After 1962, one of the virgins of the shrine was repatriated and gave birth to the one in Nimes. It constitutes a point of anchorage and reunion for many pieds-noirs having lived in Oran, Algeria. Nimes France
Photograph of a representation of Emir Abd-El-Kader displayed on an exterior wall of the MUCEM, as part of an exhibition dedicated to him. Marseille, France - April 28, 2022. Emir, Algerian religious and military leader, he led a struggle against the French conquest of Algeria in the mid-nineteenth century, before being taken prisoner in France and sent into exile. Marseille France
View of the Memorial of Algerian repatriates, on the Corniche JF Kennedy in Marseille. Marseille, France - April 28, 2022. It was designed by César and inaugurated in 1970. The boat propeller symbolizes the crossing of the Mediterranean Sea that the repatriates had to make in 1962 to reach Marseille. Marseille France
Mohamed Goumri ( 38), known as "Momo", wears a custom-made "Orange Hermes" Djellaba in a Marseilles cove on his day off. Marseille, France. May 18, 2022. Originally from Oran, he is a famous waiter in the bars and bistros of Marseille, who greets everyone in the street. At the beginning of his career, in a fancy place of the Phocaean city, his boss sees Mohammed's first name in a bad light and suggests that he be called "Zidane", because it sounds better for the customers. An ordinary racism. Homosexual, Mohammed is the only one in his family who does not yet have French nationality despite being 17 years old in France. Born in Libya during a trip by his parents, his birth certificate is not accessible and has delayed the process. But if he really had to choose, it would be Algeria without hesitation, of which he is proud, even if his life is free. Marseille France
Pieces of watermelon at a family meal during the celebration of Eid el Fitr, marking the end of Ramadan in the family of Charef and Meriem Hammou in Issoudun, France - May 2, 2022. Charef is French of Algerian origin. Born in France, he often had to answer this question in his childhood, a question that his children are still asked today. "We are asked to integrate, but we are set apart". His wife Meriem arrived in 2008 as part of her studies. Aid el Fitr is a moment of religious celebration, but also cultural, experienced as a strong link to Algeria, much more than the holidays related to history. Issoudun France
Red babouchs in the living room of Charef and Meriem Hammou's family in Issoudun, France - May 2, 2022. Charef is French of Algerian origin. Born in France, he often had to answer this question in his childhood, a question that his children are still asked today. "We are asked to integrate, but we are set apart". His wife Meriem arrived in 2008 as part of her studies. Aid el Fitr is a moment of religious celebration, but also cultural, experienced as a strong link to Algeria, much more than the holidays related to history. Issoudun France
Algerian flag in Paris, France during a protest supporting the Hirak in Algeria.
