Miradas francesas sobre la Guerra Civil

Abstract

As currently demonstrated by the relatively low-key affair that is the sale of the private Parisian home in which Picasso painted Guernica in 1937, the Spanish Civil War remains, both culturally and politically, a major point of reference in France’s contemporary history. A distinct set of commemorations was included in the decennial celebrations of 1996 and 2006, fuelled by the opening up of multiple written and visual archives as well as by the behaviour of the grandchildren of exiles, long-conditioned by the history of their parents and grandparents. Debate has been further fuelled by the ebb and flow of politics south of the Pyrenees and the subsequent rivalry between the tenets of neo-Francoism and republicanism. as well as the debate between regionalists/nationalists and centralists. France (mainland and North Africa) is far more concerned with the Spanish Civil War than other countries as it housed a substantially higher number of exiles. That said, true French specialists on the Spanish Civil War are a rarity - although everyone seems to have something to say in his/her capacity as a descendant of an exile or political activist, especially in the Midi region. All forms of media seem affected by this wave of attention, from historical literature to the Internet; from scholarly works to popular books also aimed at youth-, stemming from torn memories; from conference proceedings to graphic novels, photo albums and documentaries (always pro-republican). At the same time however, general or military historical works evidence the continuous support of a rather anti-communist view. France was divided by the Spanish Civil War and remains so today, despite all attempts at scientific mediation.