What is Creole, exactly? This is probably one of the most debated topics among linguists worldwide - it is an incredibly complex and diverse language. The fruit of migrations and population mingling, Creole language has been, since the distant times of slavery, a vernacular language, either prohibited or underrated. But things started to change in the 1980s, as explained by the Creole-oriented Reunionese blog, Renyone [Cr, Eng]:

In 1981 scientists having Creole as their mother tongue started asking themselves questions about the methods that could be used to promote the Creole language, following a scientific symposium organised by the international committee for Creole studies working on the theme: a Creole / Creoles, continuity and creativity in the Creole world.

Renyone gives more details about the establishment of what has become a tradition in most Creolophone countries [Eng]:

In 1982 the Seychelles government organised a Creole week.
[…]
The first international BANNZIL KREYOL day took place on the 28th October 1983. Ever since, the 28th October has been celebrated annually in all Creole countries the world over.

Since then, the preservation of this vernacular language, sometimes called a dialect, has been a great concern for many people as shown by this statement of objectives published by the International Organization of Creole People. A Facebook group named “Annou Palé Patwa” (Creole for “Let's speak Patois/Creole) relays this concern since in a topic entitled Creole Month, a Trinidadian user wonders about this year's celebration [En]:

Well October is Creole month the world over, what can we do to promote it in Trinidad?
[…]
What do you think will be the best way to go if we were to do something national?

Initiatives to promote, preserve or celebrate Creole are local field work as much as governemental policy. Here is a post published by Dominican blogger Living Dominica two years ago in which we can see that in some countries, this celebration is not just a token gesture [En]:

This month is Creole time here on Dominica, which is my very favorite celebration. This time of year is a festival honoring all things Dominican. Everyone gets into the spirit of things in the days leading up to Independence Day (Nov. 3) and the World Creole Music Festival (Oct. 26-28)

Mentioned above, the World Creole Music Festival was born 13 years ago from the Dominican government's will to associate the International Creole Month to its celebration of the Independence of the island on November 3rd 1978.

From all this, it is quite obvious that Creole Month and Creole Day, October 28th, are not uniformly celebrated worldwide. Here are some posts about 2009 Creole Day events:

From London, the group MBMB “Minm Biten, Minm Bagay” (Guadeloupean and Martinican Creole phrases which mean “it's all the same”) wrote a post in order to invite people to the event that took place on Sept. 27th 2009 and also to recall previous editions of their “MBMB Kreyol Day”.

In Canada, the Creole-oriented organization Kepkaa invites people for “Mwa kréyol la nan Monréyal” (Haitian Creole for “Creole Month in Montreal”) in a post entitled “Ann fété kilti kreyol nou yo” (Haitian Creole for “Let's celebrate Creole cultures together”). Another Canadian event was announced on Miss Creole Canada Pageant and relayed on Facebook, it was the first of its kind, crowning of a Miss from Creole heritage, which took place on October 17th, as part of the celebration of the Creole Month.

In Paris, blogger Anba pyé mango-la announces a cultural evening called “Tan Kréyol” (Creole for “Hear Creole”) where the oral transmission of Creole is given a place of honor [Fr Cr]:

Senn-la wouvè ba tout moun : poèt, chantè, slamè, makè, kontè, mizisyen… .

In Guadeloupe, the local authorities have organized a month-long program taking place in different locations, in order to celebrate “Mwa òktòb kréyol an mouvman” (Creole for “October, Creole in motion). Here are the two main points of this program posted by guadeloupe.coconews [Fr Cr]:

1. Prèmyé dékatman ba tout moun
2. Dézyèm dékatman èvè zanfan-lékòl

Finally, from Martinique, montraykreyol publishes a post which questions the Creole Month celebration there and most precisely the relevance of celebrating Creole in a week-long festival [Fr Cr]:

Es ou ka kwè ki an sel simenn pou défann kréyol adan tout lanné-a sifizan ?

CLAUDE MARLIN : Dapré mwen non, sa ja an pal pou kréyol-la menm manniè ki tout travay-la ki za fet asou lang-lan. Men fok pandan tout lanné-a, ni travay ki pou fet, fok véyatif toulong, pas menm si kréyol ka rantré latélévizion, laradio, nan piblisité kontel, bien délè sa ka an kréyol toubònman, tjòlòlò ek sa pé désèvi lang-la.

“Banania” is a popular French hot chocolate mix, launched in France in 1912. In the marketing strategy, the choice was made to associate this product (made of chocolate, banana, milk and sugar) with Africa or the French West Indies, in order to make it sound more exotic.

In 1915, during the First World War, soldiers came from the French colonies in Africa to fight for their Motherland. That was the beginning of a long relationship between the brand and the image of the Tirailleur Sénégalais. At the time, Senegal was enough of a household name in France to lend “exotic” authenticity to this product, originally exported from Nicaragua. The image of this happy, smiling soldier coming from Africa to fight for France in the war, was associated with a now-controversial slogan: “Y'a bon”. This phrase - supposedly a form of broken French used by Africans to say “It's good”- was, for decades, (certainly up to the 1970's) linked with the image of the Senegalese soldier as a symbol of the product's authenticity.

Image courtesy just.Luc, used under a Creative Commons License. Visit just.Luc's flickr photostream.

Back in 2005, blogger Alain Mabanckou published a blogpost [Fr] entitled “Y'a Bon Banania ou Y'a Pas Bon Banania” about an action group of Guadeloupeans, Martinicans and Reunionese called Collectif DOM which sued Nutrimaine, the company which produces Banania, for…

…d’utiliser des clichés insultants pour les personnes de couleur noire, en exploitant l’image du tirailleur sénégalais et son fameux slogan « Banania Y’a bon » créés au début du siècle dernier…

In 2008, another action group, le MRAP [Fr] (Movement Against Racism and for Friendship between the Peoples) sued Nutrimaine again for not respecting an agreement signed in 2006 with the Collectif DOM, after the charges were laid against the company. According to blogger Storytelling, the MRAP was nonsuited [Fr]…

au prétexte que ce slogan ne trouble pas l’ordre public ni n’est contraire aux bonnes moeurs.

Photo by ɐılnɾ, used under a Creative Commons License. Visit ɐılnɾ's flickr photostream.

Today, Banania uses a sort of cartoon character as its mascot and the controversial slogan has disappeared - but most black people in France are still not reconciled with the brand. On March 17th 2009, a group called les Indivisibles [Fr] launched the “Y'a Bon Awards”, a dubious honour, bestowed upon politicians, journalists, or any public officials who have contributed to the spreading of racism in France. Montray Kreyol [Fr] posts the link to the list of all the recipients of the “Y'a Bon Awards”, and you can follow more reactions to this century-long advertising campaign on just.Luc's Ethnic Stereotype flickr page.

In Martinique, Imaniyé [Fr] marks International Women's Day by posting this video by Senegalese singer, Ismael Lo:

In a video slideshow, Fontenay d'Avenir writes, “women have long fallen prey to the violence of this world” [Fr] and while she isn't necessarily opposed to a women's day, she doesn't see that it has changed anything.

Antonia Neyrins blogs on a plane between Benin and France. She posts the Alicia Keyes music video, “Superwoman,” and writes:

Je pense à toutes les femmes dont les droits élémentaires ne sont toujours pas respectés en 2009, toutes celles qui doivent lutter pour protéger et nourrir leurs enfants, trouver un logement et travailler, toutes celles qui sont victimes de violences conjugales, de violences ou de mutilations sexuelles ou toutes celles qui sont victimes d'atrocités commises au nom d'une guerre ou d'un intégrisme religieux, quel qu'il soit.

Je pense aussi à toutes les femmes épanouies au bras d'un homme (ou d'une femme) qu'elles aiment et qui les aime, qui ont réussi à trouver un équilibre entre leur vie de femme, de mère, d'épouse, d'amante, à toutes les femmes heureuses d'être nées femme.

Tout être humain équilibré et intelligent devrait souhaiter avoir près de lui un autre être humain, à son image, c'est à dire libre et epanoui.

C'est étrange en même temps cette fête, car nous sommes et restons femme tous les jours de l'année…

In Réunion, Noemie at TiBazar [Fr] posts photos of a local gathering celebrating the women of St. Paul.

And in Morocco, citoyenhmida pays hommage to women through poetry which, he writes, would not be complete without “Black woman,” by Senegalese poet and former president, Léopold Sédar Senghor:

Naked woman, black woman

Clothed with your colour which is life,
with your form which is beauty!

In your shadow I have grown up; the
gentleness of your hands was laid over my eyes.

And now, high up on the sun-baked
pass, at the heart of summer, at the heart of noon,
I come upon you, my Promised Land,
And your beauty strikes me to the heart
like the flash of an eagle.

Naked woman, dark woman

Firm-fleshed ripe fruit, sombre raptures
of black wine, mouth making lyrical my mouth
Savannah stretching to clear horizons,
savannah shuddering beneath the East Wind's
eager caresses

Carved tom-tom, taut tom-tom, muttering
under the Conqueror's fingers

Your solemn contralto voice is the
spiritual song of the Beloved.

Naked woman, dark woman

Oil that no breath ruffles, calm oil on the
athlete's flanks, on the flanks of the Princes of Mali
Gazelle limbed in Paradise, pearls are stars on the
night of your skin

Delights of the mind, the glinting of red
gold against your watered skin

Under the shadow of your hair, my care
is lightened by the neighbouring suns of your eyes.

Naked woman, black woman,
I sing your beauty that passes, the form
that I fix in the Eternal,

Before jealous fate turn you to ashes to
feed the roots of life.

Harinjaka gives us a preview of the anticipation back home:

“C’est parti pour le 7 ème Jeux des îles de l’Océan Indien (JIOI).
La flamme olympique arrive aujourd’hui au stade de Mahamasina (Tananarive) pour annoncer l’ouverture des 7èmes JIOI, qui se tiendront du 9 au 19 août à Tananarive.
Plus de 200 athlètes originaires de sept îles de l’océan Indien, à savoir les Comores, les Maldives, l’île Maurice, Mayotte, La Réunion, les Seychelles et Madagascar, participeront à 16 différents sports pour cette competition.[..]

j’ai pu ressentir l’excitation des malgaches dont l’émotion est vraiment palpable [..]
Sachez quand même que 86 pays vivront en direct la plupart des compétitions. ”

« the 7th Indian Ocean Island Games are underway (IOIG).
The Olympic flame arrives today at the Mahamasina stadium (Antananarivo) to signal the opening of the 7th IOIG, which will be held from the 9 to the 19th of August in Antananarivo.

More than 200 athletes from seven islands in the Indian Ocean: the Comoros, Maldives, Mauritius, Mayotte, Reunion, Seychelles and Madagascar, will take part in 16 various sports for this competition. [.]

One can sense the excitation of the Malagasy people whose enthusiasm for the event is undeniable[.]
Note that 86 countries will be able to follow live most of of the matches.”

Su adds in the comment section that the event is so important that the day of the opening ceremony has been declared a national holiday.

( Ravi, the official mascott of the Indian Ocean Island Games. Photo credit: http://www.jioi2007.mg/)

In the five years since the last presidential election, and in particular after the 2005 riots and the headscarf controversy, immigration and race have moved to the center of the political debate.

This, combined with the fact that the election marks the first time in France's history a woman has come this close to the presidency, might account for Sunday's unprecedented voter turnout, the highest since 1965.

Here's a view of the election from outside the metropole–voters in overseas French departments, interested bloggers in former French colonies, and the growing ranks of hyphenated French.

Around Francophonia

Few Warm Feelings for Sarkozy

Like many francophones, Vive la Francophonie is

Listening to Sarkozy at 20:30, I had tears in my eyes. He wanted to protect me, wanted brotherhood for the big French family, he was against “golden parachutes.” For a moment it seemed he could have become a social democrat with the blink of an eye! Sarkozy finished by condemning everyone to prison for a life sentence, proposing retirement between age 65 and 70. Last about face: on “RCJ” Coassgen announced a referendum on Europe…

…there are other arguments in Royal's favor: popular jury, proportional representation in the National Assembly, the right of petition, the placement of juvenile delinquents in military academies, local boarding schools, flexisecurity, and possibly a greater attention to francophones because she was born in Senegal.

Congo-Brazzaville

At Demain Le Congo Brazzaville, Mouvimat, who clearly has no love for Sarkozy, maintains that nothing is certain; but as if anticipating a Sarkozy win, wonders what France will be like under Sarkozy.

Si la raison l'a emporté au premier tour, rien n'est moins sûr, même si l'on se rend compte que pour une fois, les élections sont conformes aux prédictions des sondages. Les sondages sont-ils devenus une science exacte ? Certainement pas ! Mais nous savons qu'ils influencent les petits esprits et les petites opinions qui se disent :”la majorité a raison donc je vote comme la majorité !”

Si Sarkozy passe, il se pourrait que les Français le regrette mais ce peuple est pétri de contradictions et c'est ainsi qu'il aime à avancer en se vautrant dans sa propre contradiction…s'il gagne dans quinze jours aura tous les pouvoirs…

Mouvimat goes onto call Sarkozy the “standard bearer” (Fr) of the monied classes, one step away from supreme power, and says that Jews are the “masters of global finance.”

Morocco: Overwhelming Support for Royal

Community web portal Yabiladi.com posts an online poll which suggests that like other minorities, French Moroccans remain suspicious of Nicolas Sarkozy, who received only 7% of 1057 votes. Centrist candidate Francois Bayrou received 25% and Segolene Royal was most popular, with 48%. Royal and Bayrou have benefited, Yabiladi explains, from the French Moroccan community's position of “Anything but Sarko” (Fr) .

Lebanon: A Center-Right Blogger Laments Both Royal and Sarkozy

Of the election results, French-Lebanese blogger Frencheagle –a rightest in favor of Bayrou, not Sarkozy–writes of that France has chosen “mediocrity and arrogance” (Fr). Segolene Royal is the mediocre candidate making promises she cannot possibly keep, and Sarkozy the arrogant one, notably for his handling of the 2005 riots.

Frencheagle, who seems to have preferred Bayrou, writes that the results show France has significantly shifted to the right. A rightist himself, Frencheagle thinks this is generally a good sign, but he's not keen on seeing Sarko in the presidency.

la France n'a jamais été autant droite qu'aujourd'hui, si on accumule les votes de François Bayrou, Nicolas Sarkozy, et Jean-Marie Le Pen. Plus de 60 % de la population française estiment en effet que désormais seule une politique de droite pourraient venir à bout des problèmes auxquels fait face leur pays. Je ne peux qu'être bien sûr que content de cela, étant et me considérant de droit. Je déplore cependant en soit arrivé à avoir un Sarkozy deuxième tour, ne fait plutôt penser à un roquet plein président de la république, il a l'art de polémiquer, de provoquer, mais sûrement pas de se poser comme arbitre entre Français qui agissent dans l'intérêt de tous.

Tunisia

Global Voices author Samsoum has an in-depth roundup of the Tunisian blogosphere's coverage of the French presidential election. Girl from Mars wonders why Tunisians seem to be more interested and knowledgeable about French politics than their own.

Overseas Departments Vote

Guadeloupe and Martinique

Guadeloupe and Martinique both saw record turnouts, with the majority of voters in Guadeloupe voting for Sarkozy (42.6%) and in Martinique, for Royal (48.4%).

Overseas departments voted on April 21st, one day ahead of France, so as to “avoid the impression their vote was useless” (Fr), explains Greg at Internet Rapide. Because of the early vote and the time difference, broadcasts of television and radio news from France were temporarily suspended in order to comply with the ban on campaigning after the Friday before the poll.

Segolene Royal is “Dangerous for France”

As passionately as Et Si Nous Parlions writes about his loss of faith in Sarkozy and his support for Royal, Trop Nul en Guadeloupe explains why Segolene Royal is “dangerous for France.”

Marie-Ségolène Royal qui s'est présentée comme une mère aux Français, n'est en fait qu'une fourbe dissimulée sous un beau visage, refait lui aussi pour endormir l'électeur. Depuis le début de “SA” campagne, il y a six mois, Marie-Ségolène Royal n'a cessé de suivre l'actualité au plus près pour adapter ses thèses aux souhaits des uns et des autres. Dans ses tentatives de précisions, sont apparues ce que l'on a appelé des bourdes, mais qui n'étaient en fait que le résultat d'un creux sidéral au niveau de ses idées.

Méprisante avec le PS, son parti, puis à nouveau une fidèle partisane, Marie-Ségolène Royal n'est en fait qu'une courtisane se donnant au plus offrant.

Trop Nul en Guadeloupe also thinks http://samsontahiti.blogspot.com/2007/04/1er-tour-presidentielles-samedi.html”>writes about the election from Tahiti. As in the French Antilles, French Polynesia votes a day earlier. However in this case if they did not vote a day ahead, with the time difference Tahitians would know the outcome of the election in France before the polls even opened in their country.

Like many before him, Sampson notes the record interest in this presidential election. However, he thinks that attention has become somewhat farcical and does not represent genuine civic engagement.

Maintenant, les candidats, on les découvre autant dans VOICI et GALA que dans LE MONDE ou L'EXPRESS…

On entend que cette campagne a passionné les français. Mon oeil comme dirait Le Pen ! C'est de l'auto persuasion non ? On nous bassine avec des petites phrases…on se demande qui est le personnage en photo dans un cadre derrière Arlette Laguiller (est-ce qu'elle a un “mec” ?), on nous montre des photos de Ségolène en jeans parce qu'elle ne met pas que des robes, etc…

Il y a les attaques verbales plus ou moins frontales, et puis les pervers (enfin surtout un…) qui répond “qu'il ne répond pas”, que les autres se querellent et que lui s'occupe des Français…

Samson once went through an “angry adolescent-abstentionist period” (Fr). He is full of doubts. Nevertheless, he writes that it is important to vote and that if people are ever to practice a higher level of politics, civic education is essential. Parents should talking to their children about politics.

An African Living in France Explains His Support for Royal, Disillusionment with Sarkozy

Sarkozy and the 2005 Riots

Et si nous parlions, written by a francophone African, country unknown, explains his reasons for supporting Segolene Royal, even though as recently as one year ago, he was a Sarkozy supporter.

Sarkozy's handling of the 2005 riots have made the author of Et si nous parlions believe that Sarkozy, and the majority of the French, are not really interested in building a multicultural, multiracial France.

Il y'a un an, j'étais prosarkozyste, je suivais avec attention ses idées qui avaient l'air d'apporter du changement dans cette France sclérosée. J'étais pour la discrimination positive parceque j'ai toujours cru que “un tiens vaut mieux que deux tu l'auras”. En effet, au lieu d'attendre, probalement 1000 ans que la France change de mentalité et réintègre sa partie colorée dans son histoire. Je préfère qu'on discrimine positivement en attendant que le monde soit meilleur.

Puis un jour, il y'a eu les émeutes des banlieues, j'ai attendu que cet homme politique traite ce problème de manière pragmatique. C'est a dire remettre du calme mais aussi essayer de comprendre, trouver des solutions sociales au problème des exclus de banlieue. J'ai attendu qu'il profite de cette occasion pour relancer l'idée de dsicrimination positive. Avec 40% de chomage dans certains villes, on peut comprendre que l'emploi est la première solution contre l'émeute des banlieues. C'est alors que nous avons tous compris avec stupéfaction que Sieur Nicolas comptait se servir de la peur qu'a naturellement, historiquement, psychologiquement et socialement un blanc de neuilly pour un jeune basané de clichy sous bois en France.

C'est alors que j'ai compris a quelle sauce Sarkozy comptait nous manger. Et c'est alors que j'ai décidé de regarder ailleurs. Si Sarkozy avait été au pouvoir pendant cette dernière decennie, jamais quelqu'un comme moi ne serait arrivé en France. Je ne scierai pas l'arbre sur lequel je suis assis.

Race & French Politics

Et Si Nous Parlions is deeply skeptical that either the Left or the Right is seriously committed to addressing racism in France, but that the Left represents the lesser of two evils.

C'est vrai qu'il ya presque autant de noirs /arables voire plus à l'UMP qu'au PS. Mais l'UMP de Sarkozy a viré à l'extreme droite. C'est une UMP qui dit aux basanés, nous ferons rien pour que vous reussisiez mais une fois que vous serez riche et populaire, nous oublierons que vous venez d'ailleurs. C'est une UMP qui ne veut garder que les meilleurs, les favorisés ecrasant sur son passage ceux qui souffrent de l'exclusion dans les coins pauvres de France. Je ne pense pas qu'il y ait moins de racistes a gauche mais je pense qu'il ya une difference entre legitimer le racisme et ne pas en parler. La difference est que l'auteur du racisme doute du bien fondé de son acte. Je ne veux pas d'un pays qui croit que c'est normal d'habiter en cité parce qu'on est noir, que seuls les etrangers posent problème, que la polygamie est source des emeutes de banlieues…

J'ai tout prévu , Si Sarkozy et Le pen passent au second tour, j'estime que la France l'aura merité. Il n'y aura plus aucune raison pour moi d'etre pacifique, plus aucune de croire en une France qui se veut diverse. Je ne resisterai pas pacifique et je voterai a ce moment la pour le repli communautaire parceque je pense que de toute facon on ne pourra rien faire contre un majorité de gens qui les aurons sciamment choisi. Je créerai donc ma boite de noirs pour des salariés et des clients noirs. J'adhererai à des associations de noirs etc… Vous me direz, tu feras exactement ce qu'ils veulent. C'est exact mais au moins ce sera pour mon propre intéret.

Cautious Support for Royal

While the blogger is not sure Royal will be better able to represent him than any of the other white candidates, Royal, at least, has more convincingly Intellectuals tell us we should not vote [for Segolene Royal] just because she is a woman. I have a thousand objective reasons that have compelled me to vote for her. The first is that I am African, and she is the only candidate that has said on television, in front of millions of French watching TF1, that France exploited Africa. This does not mean that she will be better than any of the others. And let's be realistic; it's up to us to change our countries of origin. Nevertheless, the fact that she said this is already a good start. She's also the candidate who is proposing “roundtrip” visas allowing Africans to return to their country of origin much more easily, and I think that today for the diaspora that has established itself [in France], that is no small thing.

Woman President As Symbol of Hope and Change