The French republican state is built upon principles of the ‘abstract’ citizen and liberté, égalité, fraternité liberty, equality, fraternity. However, with universalisation comes exclusion and oppression and since masculinity is rooted in what is considered universal, patriarchal norms and values are deeply rooted in French politics and daily life. This paper analyses how Qui a tué mon père (QATMP), a novel exploring the link between the French state, masculinity, and the working class, and how Mariam, a film following the life of a Muslim girl in France after the 2004 ban of ostentatious religious symbols in schools, expose the relationship between the French republican state and a patriarchal system. Both works highlight the negative impacts of the patriarchy on the individual: QATMP demonstrates the power of masculinity in exacerbating social issues, whilst Mariam shows how the patriarchal system may seem to emancipate women but instead degrades them. Through the analysis of contemporary French politics and society, the paper concludes how, whether conforming or resisting, the patriarchal republican state will always dominate.
Henrietta Wood (Tue,) studied this question.