"Le Chant des Africains" (''The Song of the Africans'') is the unofficial anthem of the

Pied-noir The ''Pieds-Noirs'' (; ; ''Pied-Noir''), are the people of French and other European descent who were born in Algeria during the period of French rule from 1830 to 1962; the vast majority of whom departed for mainland France as soon as Alger ...

community in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

and its former colonies in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

History

World War I

Originally written in 1914 by a Sergeant-Major Bendifallah and companyman Marizot, ''Le Chant des Africains'' is a testimony to the bravery of a Moroccan

goumier The Moroccan Goumiers (french: Les Goumiers Marocains) were indigenous Moroccan soldiers who served in auxiliary units attached to the French Army of Africa, between 1908 and 1956. While nominally in the service of the Sultan of Morocco, they s ...

regiment disbanded after suffering severe losses in

Meaux Meaux () is a Communes of France, commune on the river Marne (river), Marne in the Seine-et-Marne Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region in the Functional area (France), metropolitan area of Paris, Franc ...

, northeast of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. The song became popular among the soldiery as well as civilians, but was not set to music until 1918 by Félix Boyer, bandmaster of the Algerian Garrison.

World War II

7e régiment de chasseurs d'Afrique-drapeau

The lyrics were modified in 1943 to include all Africans who identified as Frenchmen or Pieds-noirs, especially those from the

Arab world The Arab world ( ar, اَلْعَالَمُ الْعَرَبِيُّ '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, refers to a vast group of countries, mainly located in Western A ...

. Also changed were references to location, as most singers had returned to the colonies. Ironically, this situation has again reversed itself in the meantime. This 1943 version was dedicated to Lt.Col. van Hecke's :fr:7e régiment de chasseurs d'Afrique who fought the 1944-45 Italian, French and German Allied military campaigns.

Algerian War

The song was reportedly being used by the Europeans supporting the status quo of French Algeria against its independence supported by president Charles de Gaulle. Because of that the song was forbidden from the French military until it was authorized again, in 1969.

Today

''Le Chant des Africains'' remains today an adopted symbol of identity for the Pied-noir community.

Lyrics

Below are the lyrics of the first stanza and refrain of the 1914 and 1944 versions.

External links

FCNV.com - Le Chant des Africains
lyrics and music

article with both versions of Le Chant des Africains (in French)
Blog article
about the song's pertinence today (in French) French songs French military marches French anthems Songs about Africa {{France-hist-stub