BEFORE FEBRUARY 2020, FRENCH ADS ALMOST NEVER SHOWED A PERSON OF COLOR
Then this image not only included a Black, but had him dominate a group of whites:
M° Arts et Métiers
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Though later images were much more timid, models of color became universal.* The ads below come from the métro or the lower-middle-class 13th, so address a mass public (the last image excepted).
*The blogger Monique Wells noticed the change: For her presentation of metro posters in February 2020, please click.
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In March and April 2020 models were almost entirely Black or
North African but...
- Most were single figures, which skipped rapport with whites:
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Rue Nationale |
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| Boulevard Vincent Auriol |
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| Corner rues de Tolbiac / Albert Moureu |
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| Place d'Italie |
- For mixed couples, the white dominated:
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| Rue du Château des Rentiers |
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| Corner rues Jeanne d'Arc / Clisson |
Then came a pause: In April most ads were zooms on products, with an occasional white model.
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In September models of color returned and included Asians.
- The first image was of a baby...
- ...who became part of a wider picture, where races and genders were mixed but the white boy commanded:
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| Pharmacie au carrefour rue de Tolbiac / avenue de Choisy |
- Then whites dominated more subtly, by being in the foreground or advancing a knee:
M° Nation
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| Avenue des Gobelins |
The Italie Deux mall
- When the figures were equal...
- The Black was reassuring: pale, his coiffure dated and his outfit classic...
M° Châtelet
- ...unless the image targeted a progressive clientele:
Naturalia, avenue de Choisy
"Bio:" organic
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The year's end brought a multitude of Blacks. Their subordination was subtle:
- The Scandinavian sweater contradicts the butler image, camouflaging the figure's subordination...
Naturalia, rue de Tolbiac
- ...and reversing the usual heights of the man and woman attenuates the white's domination, who also advances her foot:
Bus stop, rue de Tolbiac
- The first image to show equality did so through children, who do not threaten (like the Asian baby above)...
The cash register at the Franprix behind rue de Tolbiac
- ...by emphasizing conventional gender roles...
Rue de Tolbiac
- ...or by being enigmatic. The green hair and European traits make the origin of the light brown youth who dominates the group uncertain:
Rue de Tolbiac
# # #
A single image broke the rules: The Black's careless pose, sullen expression and coiffure evoked the street. But since he wears a tux and his companion an evening gown, he is worthy of the clients...
Most ads last a week. This one hovered over the city center, then moved to the Tuileries gardens next to the Louvre. At the start of 2021, it occupied the full last page of the influential daily Le Monde.
Shivers attract.
# # #
In 2024, this ad unabashedly proclaimed Black strength:
Entrée to Black Paris
# # #
In spite of images' ambiguity,
including models of color
suggests a public open to racial diversity.
Train of thought:
This demonstration of the Yellow Vests
during the presidential election of 2022
does not mention immigration, racism or xenophobia:
Rue de Tolbiac, 13th, April 22, 2022
This sign shows the bigoted leader Marine Le Pen
and says,"Let's get rid of this!"
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