Fabienne Chamelot
Translated by Phoebe Hadjimarkos Clarke
In and Out of View: Art and the Dynamics of Circulation, Suppression, and Censorship
London : Bloomsbury Visual Arts, 2022, 350p. ill. en noir et en coul. 27 x 19cm, (Art & Visual Culture), eng
Index
ISBN : 9781501358715
Sous la dir. de Karen Kleinfelder, Christopher Miles, Catha Paquette. Postf. de Svetlana Mintcheva, Laura Raicovich
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- Fabienne Chamelot
01 June 2023
Full text
- 1 Hiribarren, Vincent. “Hiding the colonial past, A comparison of European archival policies”, Displa (…)
1French colonial history primary sources are regularly at the heart of disagreements and tensions amongst various governments, as well as between governments, researchers and civil society. In some cases, the former European colonial empires were able to shield these sources – proofs of violence that took place over the course of centuries1 – from public view for a certain amount of time. In France, the last obstacles barring access to these documents were supposed to have been lifted when the fifty-year mark allowing their disclosure was reached. But since 2019, this access has come under unprecedented legal attack, including the zealous application of the General Inter-ministerial Directive 1300 [IGI 1300 for Instruction Générale Interministérielle], which restricted the disclosure of many of these records. Although appeals have been successful in overturning the procedure, this initiative is one of several creating a troubling context for the freedom of research and, on a broader scale, for democratic transparency.
- 2 In addition to official records, other sources of French colonial history include a variety of docu (…)
2The colonial archives should be distinguished from the sources of colonial history. Colonial archives are made up of all the documents produced by the French colonial governing body, including the Ministry of the Colonies and the French colonial local governments in the colonised territories. These archives were divided into two categories during the independence process, one part is now housed in the Archives nationales d’Outre-Mer (ANOM) in Aix-en-Provence, the other remained in the independent countries. The sources of colonial history include the colonial archives, as well as numerous French government records not produced by the colonial governing body per se but nonetheless relating to colonial affairs2. Thus, crucial sources for history come from the military and foreign affairs administrative bodies (particularly concerning protectorates). They are respectively held at the Archives historiques de la Défense [SHD, Historical archives of Defence] in Vincennes and at the Archives Diplomatiques in Nantes. Various other collections are located in different centres, such as the Archives départementales des départements d’outre-mer [Departmental archives of overseas departments].
The “top secret” stamps protected by IGI 1300 do not systematically mark material that is “sensitive” today. Here, for instance, the 1940 plans for the evacuation of archives in colonial Indochina in the event of an attack. © FR ANOM. Aix-en-Provence (Indochine, RSTNF 5718) – All rights reserved
- 3 See Veyssière, Marion. “La Communication des archives publiques en France”, 20 & 21 : revue d’histo (…)
3From 2019 to 2021, access to these sources created unrest in archival and historical communities as well as in the public arena, leading some people to accuse the government of attempting to block access to the sources of colonial history, particularly those concerning the Algerian War. A 2008 law on archives specifies that archives over fifty years old ought to become accessible to the public by right. There are other legal measures which pertain to specific archives, but this law lays down the general principle that applies by default to all public archives. In 2011, however, the General Inter-ministerial Directive 1300 ruled that documents relating to national defence – secret and top-secret military information – had to follow a declassification procedure in order to be disclosed. This process requires a formal authorisation from the service that produced the documents, which has to be carried out for every record individually, making it a particularly tedious and time-consuming operation.3
- 4 “Archives : le tour de force de l’été”, L’Histoire, 10 September 2021
- 5 For details on the application of the procedure, see Veyssière, Marion, op. cit. and Piketty, Carol (…)
- 6 Morin, Gilles. “L’Ouverture problématique des archives des conflits français contemporains : entre (…)
4The 2011 General Inter-ministerial Directive was not immediately put into effect. The National Archives began to apply the ruling in 2013-2014, whereas the Historical Defence Archives (SHD) implemented it in early 2020. It was the application of the procedure by the SHD that set a chain of reactions into motion.4 Since top secret documents held by the Defence Archives are, by definition, sizable, this caused many obstacles in accessing boxes. On the one hand, the procedure was very time-consuming for archivists, thus causing “technical” delays in the processing, and, therefore, in the effective disclosure of archives, even though they were in theory accessible (and, in some cases, had already been accessed in the past).5 On the other hand, the General Inter-ministerial Directive 1300 contradicted the 2008 law, causing legal chaos.6
- 7 For a detailed chronology of the various stages, see Manceron, Gilles. “Histoire d’un combat”, ibid(…)
- 8 Conseil d’Etat, Conclusions des décisions n° 444865 et 4448763, session of 16 June 2021, reading of (…)
5Reactions to the situation were forceful and came from different spheres: op-eds by French and foreign historians, as well as by the Association of French Archivists (AAF), followed by the creation, in February 2020, of the “Access to Public Archives” collective in connection with the AAF, the Josette and Maurice Audin Association and the Association of Contemporary Historians in Higher Education and Research. This was followed by a petition which totalled 20,000 signatures in the summer of 2021. At the same time or in the wake of these happenings, initiatives were also taken by various agents, moving the debate into the public arena, all the way to the International Council on Archives. Two appeals were lodged with the Council of State.7 The jurisdiction’s decision in July 2021 was unambiguous with regard to the government: the arguments developed in the General Inter-ministerial Directive 1300 were “invented ‘for the needs of the cause’ and had ‘an unpleasant aftertaste of subterfuge’”8. Therefore, the formal declassification procedure was null and void.
- 9 Bobin, Frédéric. “La France simplifie l’accès aux archives judiciaires de la guerre d’Algérie”, Le (…)
- 10 Bordenave, Yves. Bobin, Frédéric. “Mémoire entre la France et l’Algérie : les deux fronts de la bat (…)
6The government’s retreat and sudden insistence on infringing the 2008 law on archives raises various questions. Some people have pointed to a decision not to reveal sources relating to the Algerian War when they were about to be made accessible. But an inter-ministerial decree from December 2021 granting early access to the judicial archives of the Algerian War seems to somewhat counterbalance this interpretation9 – even though “memorial” tensions and particularly political tensions between the various states remain strong on the subject of the archives of colonial Algeria.10 As a whole, although full access to colonial archives would fill certain historiographical gaps, it is unlikely that this would yield any new revelations liable to create a drastic shift in our understanding of French colonial history. This in no way diminishes the importance of recovering as much information and details as possible pertaining to these subjects, for history as well as for the agents of these events and their families.
7One may therefore wonder about the government’s sudden defensive and ultimately ambiguous stance towards archives, especially since, following the warning from the Council of State, a law on intelligence and for preventing terrorism [Loi relative à la prévention d’actes de terrorisme et au renseignement, PATR] was adopted in 2021, ushering in a new category of archives, mainly comprised of intelligence archives. This new category would be inaccessible for an indefinite period of time, thus constituting a historical setback and an attack on the access to public records.
Books on the history of Algeria, Fonds Jacques Leenhardt, INHA-Collection Archives de la critique d’art © ACA, Rennes, 2022
8This defensive posture recurred throughout the history of archives, particularly concerning colonial archives. At the time, determining who could have access to what archives and under what conditions was regularly discussed by the Ministry of the Colonies and by politicians, administrators and contemporary historians. The fear that the Ministry may be “losing control” both internally (there is evidence that records were borrowed internally and never returned, either voluntarily or inadvertently) and externally, in a vulnerability-inducing context, was at the heart of these discussions, which may lead to comprehensive measures covering all directions.
- 11 Archives nationales d’Outre-Mer (ANOM), Service I, 61, note for the minister 13/06/1895
- 12 ANOM, Service I, 62, quoting the Baron Mackau, reforms suggested by the High Committee for Archives (…)
- 13 ANOM, Service I, 61, report to the minister by Victor Tantet on 29 June 1898
- 14 ANOM, Service I, 61, minutes of the 10 February 1897 session of the High Committee for Colonial Arc (…)
9From the inception of the Ministry of the Colonies in 1894, the historical value of archives was part of the debates held by the High Committee for Colonial Archives and Libraries: “These records […] are especially valuable with regard to the colonial history of our country. […] These are scientific treasures which, except for reasons of secrecy or convenience, are not the sole property of a department, but of a field which must be easily accessible to a learned public.”11 However, in the eyes of the aforementioned committee, it was out of the question that historians should be able to access these records without supervision: “the special nature of the records held in theses archives does not allow them to relinquish into other hands [than those of the ministry] the assessment of the degree of appropriateness of any form of granted access.”12 For Victor Tantet, the archivist at that time, “[o]nly the [ministerial department of the Colonies] has the authority to judge the appropriateness of access.”13 The committee’s mission was, therefore, to “adopt a general rule to counter the public.”14
- 15 Ibid.
10The committee’s role was in fact of a defensive nature broad enough to deal with any eventuality, foreseeable or not: “The Colonial Archives Committee’s duty is to take any necessary measure in order to maintain the integrity of the [archive] repository under its supervision and, to this end, to draw up all the appropriate regulations to prevent it from being infringed.”15 This type of discourse cropped up throughout the history of the Ministry of the Colonies. It was permeated by a contradictory dynamic, which hinged the will to exploit these historical sources – including the aim, among other things, of promoting the ministry’s actions and the “prestige” of its position within the government – to the desire of maintaining total control over them and the historical narratives they allowed, in the name of the “reason of state”.
- 16 Said, E. (1993). Culture and Imperialism. Chatto & Windus, p. xiii
11We are confronted with an issue of colonial imperialism that Edward W. Said summarized thus: “The main battle in imperialism is over land, of course; but when it came to who owned the land, who had the right to settle and work on it, who kept it going, who won it back, and who plans its future – these issues were reflected, contested, and even for a time decided in narrative. As one critic has suggested, nations are themselves narrations. The power to narrative, or to block other narratives from forming and emerging, is very important to culture and imperialism, and constitutes one of the main connections between them.”16 For the Ministry of the Colonies, this issue was connected to the “outside”, i.e. historians, French or from other European powers, with whom rivalry, through “colonial promotion” among other things, had significant political and economic consequences. Rivalry was also at play within the French government itself, where the Ministry of the Colonies had to defend its “jurisdiction” and its field of intervention in the face of other ministries that wielded diplomatic and military powers in the colonies – not to mention certain territories, such as Algeria or the protectorates, which came under the supervision of other ministries.
- 17 Stora, Benjamin. Les Questions mémorielles portant sur la colonisation et la guerre d’Algérie, 20 J (…)
12In the light of this history, it is interesting to note that the current French government’s backtracking on the subject of the access to archives unfolded in a tense context, shaped by the Stora report on Algeria, the Duclert report on Rwanda, the Savoye-Sarr report on African heritage in general, and the earlier case of the Sankara archives.17
- 18 “’Islamo-gauchisme’ : Nous, universitaires et chercheurs, demandons avec force la démission de Fréd (…)
- 19 “« Pour un retour de l’honneur de nos gouvernants » : 20 généraux appellent Macron à défendre le pa (…)
13These questions have emerged in a worrying broader context, which has seen the academic field being targeted by a government “witch-hunt”, attacking researchers specialising in colonial and post-colonial history and labelling them with the spurious title of “Islamo-leftism”.18 These tensions are not solely external to the state apparatus. It is interesting to note the publication, in April 2021, of an op-ed written by members of the military and reproaching the government for its “lack of patriotism”.19
14Although it is likely that the crimes committed during the Algerian War are central to this sequence of events, the strong interest expressed by associations and members of civil society for these issues is at the heart of the matter. It should be noted that the sources for the Indochina War, for instance, do not enjoy the same echo chamber as those relating to the Algerian War. What does the retreat of the government into this withdrawn attitude on the subject of archives indicate, if not – rather than a fear that the factual truths of colonisation, which are actually broadly known, especially the most violent ones – that the government is losing control over its own history?
- 20 On this subject, see the recently published book by Catha Paquette, Karen Kleinfelder and Christoph (…)
15Access to colonial archives is the guarantee of a history rich with multiple perspectives, critical viewpoints and fewer blind spots. That many people should have access to these sources (victims, families, historians and researchers, as well as artists and documentary filmmakers from all the concerned countries) guarantees the coexistence of multiple perspectives, and, ultimately, a real knowledge of this complex and multidimensional past. The diversity of outlooks guarantees against explicit and implicit censorship.20 The government’s closing – or attempted closing – of the most sensitive past and future archives, by relying on a “top-secrecy” defence devoid of any nuance or distinction demonstrates the latter’s will to maintain its monopoly on the uniform and homogeneous narrative of power.
Notes
1 Hiribarren, Vincent. “Hiding the colonial past, A comparison of European archival policies”, Displaced Archives, London: Routledge, 2017. Edited by James Lowry
2 In addition to official records, other sources of French colonial history include a variety of documents produced by the colonized populations.
3 See Veyssière, Marion. “La Communication des archives publiques en France”, 20 & 21 : revue d’histoire vol. 142, 2, 2019, 141-151, and Piketty, Caroline. “L’Accès aux archives, un enjeu citoyen. Les questions posées par Brigitte Laîné et Philippe Grand”, Les Disparus de la guerre d’Algérie suivi de La Bataille des archives, Paris: L’Harmattan, 2021, 137-139. Edited by Catherine Teitgen-Colly, Gilles Manceron, Pierre Mansat.
4 “Archives : le tour de force de l’été”, L’Histoire, 10 September 2021
5 For details on the application of the procedure, see Veyssière, Marion, op. cit. and Piketty, Caroline. op. cit.
6 Morin, Gilles. “L’Ouverture problématique des archives des conflits français contemporains : entre lois, règlements, décisions politiques et pratiques administratives”, Les Disparus de la guerre d’Algérie followed by La Bataille des archives, op. cit., 146-148
7 For a detailed chronology of the various stages, see Manceron, Gilles. “Histoire d’un combat”, ibid., p. 161-175.
8 Conseil d’Etat, Conclusions des décisions n° 444865 et 4448763, session of 16 June 2021, reading of 2 July 2021.
9 Bobin, Frédéric. “La France simplifie l’accès aux archives judiciaires de la guerre d’Algérie”, Le Monde Afrique, 23 December 2021
10 Bordenave, Yves. Bobin, Frédéric. “Mémoire entre la France et l’Algérie : les deux fronts de la bataille des archives”, Le Monde, 21 January 2021
11 Archives nationales d’Outre-Mer (ANOM), Service I, 61, note for the minister 13/06/1895
12 ANOM, Service I, 62, quoting the Baron Mackau, reforms suggested by the High Committee for Archives and Libraries, 9 December 1898.
13 ANOM, Service I, 61, report to the minister by Victor Tantet on 29 June 1898
14 ANOM, Service I, 61, minutes of the 10 February 1897 session of the High Committee for Colonial Archives
15 Ibid.
16 Said, E. (1993). Culture and Imperialism. Chatto & Windus, p. xiii
17 Stora, Benjamin. Les Questions mémorielles portant sur la colonisation et la guerre d’Algérie, 20 January 2021; Duclert, Vincent. La France, le Rwanda et le génocide des Tutsi (1990-1994), 26 March 2021; Savoy, Bénédicte. Sarr, Felwine. Rapport sur la restitution du patrimoine culturel africain : vers une nouvelle éthique relationnelle, 23 November 2018; Hiribarren, Vincent. “Ouvrons les archives sur le meurtre de Thomas Sankara”, Le Monde Afrique, 13 March 2017.
18 “’Islamo-gauchisme’ : Nous, universitaires et chercheurs, demandons avec force la démission de Frédérique Vidal”, Le Monde, 21 February 2021
19 “« Pour un retour de l’honneur de nos gouvernants » : 20 généraux appellent Macron à défendre le patriotisme”, Valeurs actuelles, 21 April 2021.
20 On this subject, see the recently published book by Catha Paquette, Karen Kleinfelder and Christopher Miles, In And Out Of View: Art and the dynamics of circulation, suppression, and censorship, London: Bloomsbury, 2022.Top of page
List of illustrations
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| Caption | Books on the history of Algeria, Fonds Jacques Leenhardt, INHA-Collection Archives de la critique d’art © ACA, Rennes, 2022 |
| URL | http://journals.openedition.org/critiquedart/docannexe/image/91865/img-2.jpg |
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References
Bibliographical reference
Fabienne Chamelot, « Secret Colonial Archives or a Government Losing Control? Revisiting IGI 1300 », Critique d’art, 58 | 2022, 137-155.
Electronic reference
Fabienne Chamelot, « Secret Colonial Archives or a Government Losing Control? Revisiting IGI 1300 », Critique d’art [Online], 58 | Printemps/été, Online since 01 June 2023, connection on 23 June 2023. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/critiquedart/91865 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/critiquedart.91865Top of page
About the author
Fabienne Chamelot
Fabienne Chamelot received a PhD in 2021 from the University of Portsmouth (UK). A specialist in the history of French colonial archives, her research focuses on the use of archives in a colonial context as governmental tools. She has recently published “Quand administrer, c’est renseigner. Archives, bureaucratie et domination coloniale en Indochine (1917-1940)”, in Histoire du renseignement en situation coloniale (Presses universitaires de Rennes, 2021, edited by Vincent Hiribarren, Jean-Pierre Bat, and Nicolas Courtin).
By this author
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