What About a Sociology of Ethnicity in France? A Foucaldian Reading of Racial Violence.

In 1995, the publication of 'Theories of ethnicity' by Philippe Poutignat and Jocelyne Streiff-Fenart pointed out the new interest of French sociology for this theme. Since that time, the number of research about ethnicity has been gradually increasing. Yet, certain questions remain unsettled. In France, sociology of ethnicity does not constitute a full-fledged field. In parallel, ethnicity works are still inspired by Anglo-Saxon research. Eventually, contrary to what happened in the United States, sociologists did not draw on the Foucaldian library to nourish close and relevant fields such as subaltern or postcolonial studies. On the basis of a research regarding the immigration policy and the racial violence perpetrated against North African migrants in France during the 1970s, this article adopts a critical perspective with the aim to restore the failed dialogue in France between the Foucaldian analysis of State racism and the study of ethnicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]