Degree Name

Department

French and Italian

College

David M. Kennedy Center for International Studies

Defense Date

2023-05-22

Publication Date

2023-06-09

First Faculty Advisor

Sara Phenix

First Faculty Reader

Steve Thomsen

Honors Coordinator

Daryl Lee

Keywords

France, Posters, Propaganda, Immigration, Protests, Racism

Abstract

This article explores the importance of French political posters throughout history and how they reveal complex connections between the subjects of immigration, colonization, and racism in France. An overview of the history of immigration and colonization in France is offered, and the history of posters in France is covered briefly. Posters from World War I to the present day are then analyzed for their political content and social commentary. The specific case of the 1995 Ibrahim Ali murder committed by far-right National Front activists and the posters involved are also studied as a potent example of the power of posters in perpetuating ideology influenced by the aforementioned subjects. Posters are an integral part of French culture and an important, democratic social media that has endured to the present day. This article argues that posters are a powerful vehicle for political rhetoric, and that the posters of the National Front party directly contributed to the death of Ali.