"How to Be French" is a magisterial history of French nationality
law from 1789 to the present, written by Patrick Weil, one of
France's foremost historians. First published in France in 2002, it
is filled with captivating human dramas, with legal professionals,
and with statesmen including La Fayette, Napoleon, Clemenceau, de
Gaulle, and Chirac. France has long pioneered nationality policies.
It was France that first made the parent's nationality the child's
birthright, regardless of whether the child is born on national
soil, and France has changed its nationality laws more often and
more significantly than any other modern democratic nation.
Focusing on the political and legal confrontations that policies
governing French nationality have continually evoked and the laws
that have resulted, Weil teases out the rationales of lawmakers and
jurists. In so doing, he definitively separates nationality from
national identity. He demonstrates that nationality laws are
written not to realize lofty conceptions of the nation but to
address specific issues such as the autonomy of the individual in
relation to the state or a sudden decline in population.
Throughout "How to Be French," Weil compares French laws to
those of other countries, including the United States, Great
Britain, and Germany, showing how France both borrowed from and
influenced other nations' legislation. Examining moments when a
racist approach to nationality policy held sway, Weil brings to
light the Vichy regime's denaturalization of thousands of citizens,
primarily Jews and anti-fascist exiles, and late-twentieth-century
efforts to deny North African immigrants and their children access
to French nationality. He also reveals stark gender inequities in
nationality policy, including the fact that until 1927 French women
lost their citizenship by marrying foreign men. More than the first
complete, systematic study of the evolution of French nationality
policy, "How to be French" is a major contribution to the broader
study of nationality.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
