Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Quand la Madelon

One of the blogs I follow, Manifestation Pieds Noirs 2012 blog, wrote a piece on 4 December that plunged me into the minutiae of Pied-Noir history. In their article "La Madelon était pied-noire," the author contends that the heroine of the World War I song, "Quand la Madelon" was from Batna, Algeria.

According to Wikipedia.fr, the singer Bach (Charles-Joseph Pasquier) created it in Paris in 1914. The words were written by Louis Bousquet (1870-1941) and the music by Camille Robert who was born in Batna in 1878.

The song was not immediately popular. According to Manifestation who cite the following letter from Jean Bayol printed in the Algérianiste (number 3, 15 June 1985, pp. 71-72, my translation): 
"I possess numerous documents and testimonies of great interest. Four years ago while following the roots of 'La Madelon,' I was able to go back to her father's birth.
Several Madeleines were born between 1873 and 1876 in Batna (because Batna is his birth town), (for example, Jeanne Madeleine Bretin born January 6, 1875 to Annette Bretin and an unknown father.)
It would have been too easy to pick whichever Madeleine among them.
But the information that I obtained from various sources allowed me to go back to her father.
We can thus respond to Monsieur Robert that Madelon was born in Batna and that it's there that Luis Bousquet [sic], who was originally from Perrignargues (Manifestation interjects -  Parignargues, a town in the Gard) knew her and that it's in memory of her that he wrote this song.
The author of the song was not a soldier from Algeria.
He was in the 3rd division of Zouaves from Constantine.
When the three supplementary bataillons were created, he was moved to the 6th bataillon in Batna.
He says it himself, "I wrote this song in memory of a girl I met in Batna."

original text:
« Je possède de nombreux documents et témoignages d'un grand intérêt. Il y a 4 ans que je suis "La Madelon" à la trace et j'ai pu remonter jusqu'à la naissance de son père. Plusieurs Madeleine sont nées entre 1873 et 1876 à Batna (car Batna est bien son lieu de naissance), (par exemple Jeanne Madeleine Bretin née le 6 janvier 1875 de Annette Bretin et de père inconnu.) Il était trop facile de choisir parmi elles une quelconque Madeleine. Mais les renseignements que j'ai obtenus de sources diverses m'ont permis de remonter jusqu'à son père. C'est en me renseignant à la mairie que j'ai retrouvé celui qui allait devenir le père de Madeleine. Nous pouvons donc répondre à M. Robert que Madelon est née à Batna, que c'est là que Luis Bousquet originaire de Perrignargues (c’est Parignargues, village du Gard) l'a connue et que c'est en souvenir d'elle qu'il a écrit sa chanson. L'auteur de cette chanson n'est pas un militaire originaire d'Algérie. Il s'était engagé au 3ème Zouaves de Constantine. A la création de 3 bataillons supplémentaires, il fut affecté au 6ème bataillon à Batna. Il le dit lui-même : « J'ai écrit cette chanson en souvenir d'une fille que j'ai connue à Batna. » 
Why does any of this matter to me? I have been working on a book chapter entitled "Fixing the Past: Marie Cardinal's La Mule de corbillard" which analyzes the 1963 novel as an attempt to stop time for the Pieds-Noirs. While Cardinal is extraordinarily careful not to reveal the location of the novel, there are numerous hints at Algeria. The main character, Madeleine, lives alone on five hectares of land and hosts a French engineer named Pierre Landrieux. The two fall in love and begin to build a life together, but when her lover suddenly disappears, Madeleine (nicknamed Madelon by Pierre) begins the obsessive construction of a model cathedral. When World War II begins, Madeline loses control of her vineyards and begins a long spiral into vengeance, old age, and reconstructing memories.

The song's origins anchor La Mule de corbillard further to Algeria while the lyrics tell a similar tale to the love between Pierre and Madeleine:
Pour le repos, le plaisir du militaire, 
Il est là-bas à deux pas de la forêt 
Une maison aux murs tout couverts de lierre 
"Aux Tourlourous" c'est le nom du cabaret. 
La servante est jeune et gentille, 
Légère comme un papillon. 
Comme son vin son œil pétille, 
Nous l'appelons la Madelon 
Nous en rêvons la nuit, nous y pensons le jour, 
Ce n'est que Madelon mais pour nous c'est l'amour 
{Refrain:} 
Quand Madelon vient nous servir à boire 
Sous la tonnelle on frôle son jupon 
Et chacun lui raconte une histoire 
Une histoire à sa façon 
La Madelon pour nous n'est pas sévère 
Quand on lui prend la taille ou le menton 
Elle rit, c'est tout le mal qu'elle sait faire 
Madelon, Madelon, Madelon ! 
Nous avons tous au pays une payse 
Qui nous attend et que l'on épousera 
Mais elle est loin, bien trop loin pour qu'on lui dise 
Ce qu'on fera quand la classe rentrera 
En comptant les jours on soupire 
Et quand le temps nous semble long 
Tout ce qu'on ne peut pas lui dire 
On va le dire à Madelon 
On l'embrasse dans les coins. Elle dit "veux-tu finir..." 
On s'figure que c'est l'autre, ça nous fait bien plaisir.  
{au Refrain}
Un caporal en képi de fantaisie 
S'en fut trouver Madelon un beau matin 
Et, fou d'amour, lui dit qu'elle était jolie 
Et qu'il venait pour lui demander sa main 
La Madelon, pas bête, en somme, 
Lui répondit en souriant : 
Et pourquoi prendrais-je un seul homme 
Quand j'aime tout un régiment ? 
Tes amis vont venir. Tu n'auras pas ma main 
J'en ai bien trop besoin pour leur verser du vin  
{au Refrain}

Monday, December 12, 2011

Lledo's Algerias, my phantoms

Jean-Pierre Lledo sent me all of his films on DVD in 2007 after a Pied-Noir writer, Marie-Claude San Juan put us in contact. I had been trying to get a copy of Algéries, mes fantômes (2003) for years but couldn't get it shipped to the States. I finally (shamefully only) finished watching it today.

Yvette Teurlait remembering the massacre of 17 October 1961
Lledo's search for his own ghosts of Algeria in France began in 1998 on March 19 at the commemoration of the end of the Algerian war. His film ends with images just after France won the World Cup in 1998. His camera lingers on two celebrating fans waving flags, one Algerian, one French. The flags intertwine and overlap. Lledo expresses in the final scenes:
"Seul un jeune de cette génération peut faire ce geste-là. Un geste qui allait rester dans la gorge de tous les nationalistes et tous les intégristes. Qu’ils étouffent ! Mes fantômes pouvaient retourner dans leur patrie. Et moi, quand retournerais-je dans la mienne ? A moins que la mienne ne soit la patrie des gens de passage."
"Only a youth of this generation could make that gesture. A gesture that would remain caught in the throats of all the nationalists and all the fundamentalists. Let them choke! My ghosts could return to their homeland. And me? When would I return to mine? Unless mine is a homeland of transients."* 
Lledo's search for his country, Algeria, where he remained until 1993, is complex and moving. His opening scene at the Port of Marseille with his daughter Naouel explaining nostalgia as a "manque" 'lack' frames Lledo's movement as he travels all around France to talk about his films on Algeria. His encounters with multiple memories of Algeria -- from soldiers who admit to having tortured during the war, to Pieds-Noirs and Algerians who suffer from their exile, to the child of Harkis who struggles to understand her father's shame -- do not evoke nostalgic reunions. They demonstrate what Fiona Barclay's Writing Postcolonial France: haunting, literature and the Maghreb (Lexington Books, 2011) affirms, "France is haunted" (xi). Algeria and the Algerian war have long haunted France and the array of those who have been touched by the two countries still struggles to put that ghost to rest, whether by returning or simply remembering the influence one has on the other.

* My translation differs from the English subtitles on the DVD.

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Interview with Marc Laffineur, "The Memory of the Algerian War must be Appeased"

Translated excerpts from the interview in La Croix with Minister of Veteran Affairs, Marc Laffineur (5 December 2011)

La Croix: Isn't it also time to work out the truth about the Algerian War?
ML: The Algerian War was a tragedy. We must have the courage to bring all aspects of this conflict to light. The vast majority of the French military were exemplary in carrying out their duty. The truth should not work in only one direction. It has to reflect all aspects, even the mistakes on both sides, and it has to be wanted from both sides of the Mediterranean. Created in October 2010 and presided by Claude Bébéar, the Foundation for the Memory of the Algerian War and the battles in Morocco and Tunisia is working towards this.

La Croix: Can France and Algeria strengthen their ties during this fiftieth anniversary?
ML: I am obviously in favor of a dispassionate exchange regarding the commemoration of the end of the Algerian War with respect to the veterans' associations on both sides of the Mediterranean. A greater connection between the two countries is desirable. The Algerian War was a huge mess. We have to admit that it's time to turn the page. What was done with Germany in terms of reconciliation should be able to happen with Algeria.

Saturday, December 10, 2011

Coordinator chosen to organize the 50th anniversary commemorations

Translated and edited from Lignes de Défense blog by Philippe Chapleau, 6 December 2011

"Next year will mark the fiftieth anniversary of the end of the Algerian war. As such, the French President has given Hubert Colin de Verdière, formerly ambassador to Algeria for two mandates, the task of coordinating the multiple initiatives related to the anniversary. Marc Laffineur, Minister of Veteren Affairs, gave this information to La Croix who published an interview with him on Monday." (Title of this interview in English: The Memory of the Algerian War Must be Appeased)

Chapleau says he had been unaware of this nomination that was made on October 23.  However, Colin de Verdière has already taken up his post at the Quay d'Orsay and is currently building his team. His appointment comes after the creation in 2010 of the Foundation for the Memory of the Algerian War and the battles in Morocco and Tunisia. This organization's mission is "to facilitate public access to archives, to support scientific research in France and abroad, and to transmit the memory of a period which has often remained unknown." Directed by Hubert Falco, the foundation also wishes to "accomplish  the important task of collecting testimonials. It will support the publication or reprinting of these works."

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Leïla Sebbar: Voyage en Algéries autour de ma chambre

While I work on my chapter, "Leïla Sebbar's Review of Algerias Past," I've been catching up on her blog (thanks to Laura Reeck's Writerly Identities which references it), and I see she has continued her Voyage en Algéries autour de ma chambre, published in 2008. Of particular interest, Sebbar includes images of the fabled Jardin d'Essai in Algiers (see Cixous's Si près, among many other post-Algerian memory works that reference it) and a painting of another Algerian cemetery, Cimetière d’El Hamma Sidi M’Hamed, Alger by Catherine Rossi, 2010. The ruins of the past keep coming to the fore, both visually and textually.