Crise migratoire, régionalisme alsacien et politique linguistique française dans 'Invitation à quitter la France' de Martin Graff
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Martin Graff is a contemporary Alsatian journalist and essayist. While most of his work usually deals with the plight of the Alsatian dialect and identity striving to survive in the face of French overt and covert language policies, historically geared towards monolingualism and monodiscursivity, he published in 2001 a striking two hundred-page long pamphlet entitled Invitation à quitter la France, a narrativized sociological study of the diverse ways in which the population of the Alsatian town of Munster welcomed –or not– migrants from Afghanistan, Jordan, Kosovo, Bosnia and Azerbaijan. While the situation, back in 2001, had not yet reached the proportions of the current migrant crisis, I argue that the ideas presented in this book may be transposed into the contemporary era –something which the fantastico-realistic “Introduction” itself implies when the author projects himself into the future. In this article, I show how Invitation à quitter la France is enjoying “a renewed relevance” –in the author’s own words– in light of the current migrant crisis and the challenges it poses to France in particular and the European Union in general. Given Graff’s adherence to Michael Hechter’s theory of “internal colonization” and his engagement in favor of politico-cultural regionalism, the title could, at first, be interpreted as a call for Alsatian autonomy; however, this time, the phrase “Invitation à quitter la France” also refers to the official letter refugees receive when their asylum request has been denied: “Vous êtes invités à quitter la France.” From Graff’s depiction of the inconsistencies of the French administration’s dealings with the migrants’ language and cultural adaptation to the paradox, stressed by Graff, that Front National voting in Alsace reflects some reluctance to welcome refugees whereas Alsatians themselves, in history, have been refugees, I demonstrate how Graff weaves together the regionalist issue and the migrant issue –with important linguistico-politico-ethical implications.
