A beurgeois is a middle-class (and upwards)
Muslim
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
born in a working-class area of France to parents of
Maghreb
The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...
i origin, who continues to proclaim their roots and who is aged between 30 and 40 years old with a successful professional career, a high
purchasing power
Purchasing power is the amount of goods and services that can be purchased with a unit of currency. For example, if one had taken one unit of currency to a store in the 1950s, it would have been possible to buy a greater number of items than would ...
and a demand for a certain quality of life.
Etymology
''Beurgeois'' is a
portmanteau
A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of words[neologism
A neologism Greek νέο- ''néo''(="new") and λόγος /''lógos'' meaning "speech, utterance"] is a relatively recent or isolated term, word, or phrase that may be in the process of entering common use, but that has not been fully accepted int ...](_blank)
created in
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
from the words ''"
beur
''Beur'' (or alternatively, ''Rebeu'') is a colloquial term, sometimes considered pejorative, in French to designate European-born people whose parents or grandparents are immigrants from the Maghreb. The equivalent term for a female beur is a ...
"'' (meaning a person of
Arab
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
,
Berber
Berber or Berbers may refer to:
Ethnic group
* Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa
* Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages
Places
* Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile
People with the surname
* Ady Berber (1913–196 ...
or other
Maghrebi
Maghrebi Arabic (, Western Arabic; as opposed to Eastern or Mashriqi Arabic) is a vernacular Arabic dialect continuum spoken in the Maghreb region, in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Western Sahara, and Mauritania. It includes Moroccan, Alger ...
descent in
verlan
() is a type of argot in the French language, featuring inversion of syllables in a word, and is common in slang and youth language. It rests on a long French tradition of transposing syllables of individual words to create slang words. The wor ...
) and ''"
bourgeois
The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...
"'' (meaning affluent).
Among the beurgeois themselves, opinion over the beurgeois designation is quite divided. While some people consider it as a sort of recognition of their success, the majority believe that this
pejorative
A pejorative or slur is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or a disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hostility, or disregard. Sometimes, a ...
term is once again expressing their
stigmatization
Social stigma is the disapproval of, or discrimination against, an individual or group based on perceived characteristics that serve to distinguish them from other members of a society. Social stigmas are commonly related to culture, gender, rac ...
and discrimination as French people of Muslim descent.
Beurgeois in French society
Concerning cuisine
The "beurgeois" among France's estimated 6 - 7 million-strong Muslim community are an emerging economic demographic, being catered to by a market in
halal
''Halal'' (; ar, حلال, ) is an Arabic word that translates to "permissible" in English. In the Quran, the word ''halal'' is contrasted with ''haram'' (forbidden). This binary opposition was elaborated into a more complex classification kno ...
food and drinks. This has resulted in an increase in sales of halal products from the
fast food
Fast food is a type of mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. It is a commercial term, limited to food sold in a restaurant or store with frozen, preheated or precooked ingredien ...
chain to major
retail chains to some top
restaurants
A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearanc ...
—all opening in many French cities to accommodate these customers. These offer a wide range of halal products including alcohol-free
champagne
Champagne (, ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, that demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...
and
foie gras
Foie gras (, ; ) is a specialty food product made of the liver of a duck or goose. According to French law, foie gras is defined as the liver of a duck or goose fattened by gavage (force feeding).
Foie gras is a popular and well-known delicacy ...
approved by Islamic law (an unexpected success first introduced into
supermarket
A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. This kind of store is larger and has a wider selection than earli ...
chains across the country in 2008 at the end of the Muslim fast of
Ramadan
, type = islam
, longtype = Religious
, image = Ramadan montage.jpg
, caption=From top, left to right: A crescent moon over Sarıçam, Turkey, marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Ramadan Quran reading in Bandar Torkaman, Iran. ...
). Thus the beurgeois have become a chosen marketing target that require to be treated as consumers having specific needs- which has been adapted to by a specific and growing market sector.
Yanis Bouarbi, an
IT specialist who started the websit
paris-hallal.com(a website which lists more than 400 halal restaurants in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and 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), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
and its suburbs and is planning to expand to other French cities), who says young Muslims are at the heart of a mini
social revolution
Social revolutions are sudden changes in the structure and nature of society. These revolutions are usually recognized as having transformed society, economy, culture, philosophy, and technology along with but more than just the political syst ...
; "When our parents and grandparents came to France they did mostly manual work and the priority was having enough to feed the family. But second or third-generation people like me have studied, have good jobs and money and want to go out and profit from
French culture
The culture of France has been shaped by geography, by historical events, and by foreign and internal forces and groups. France, and in particular Paris, has played an important role as a center of high culture since the 17th century and from t ...
without compromising our religious beliefs. We don't just want cheap kebabs, we want
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
,
Thai
Thai or THAI may refer to:
* Of or from Thailand, a country in Southeast Asia
** Thai people, the dominant ethnic group of Thailand
** Thai language, a Tai-Kadai language spoken mainly in and around Thailand
*** Thai script
*** Thai (Unicode block ...
,
French food
French cuisine () is the cooking traditions and practices from France. It has been influenced over the centuries by the many surrounding cultures of Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany and Belgium, in addition to the food traditions of the r ...
; we want to be like the rest of you." A similar sentiment is echoed in Paris's
11th arrondissement Les Enfants Terribles restaurant, run by brothers Kamel and Sosiane Saidi, which serves halal French
haute cuisine
''Haute cuisine'' (; ) or ''grande cuisine'' is the cuisine of "high-level" establishments, gourmet restaurants, and luxury hotels. ''Haute cuisine'' is characterized by the meticulous preparation and careful presentation of food at a high pri ...
; "Before, Muslims wishing to eat halal would go to a restaurant and it was fish or nothing. Now we have a choice," said Sosiane, 28, who worked in the property market before setting up the restaurant three years ago. "Young Muslims have money and want to eat out like everyone else but according to their religion. The food doesn't taste any different; we have many French customers who don't even know we're totally halal. To us, that is what integration is about."
The demand for halal products, which is increasing by an estimated 10% per year, has captured the attention of food distributors, growers, companies, and the like. Sales of halal products totaled 4 billion
euros
The euro (symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . T ...
in 2009 and Solis (a
consultancy
A consultant (from la, consultare "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice and other purposeful activities in an area of specialization.
Consulting servic ...
that specializes in marketing to ethnic minorities) forecasts the market will expand about 10% in 2010, compared with a 2% growth in overall food sales. Antoine Bonnel, director of the 2010 Paris Halal trade show said, "It's mostly driven by the second and third generations. It's not a case of the Muslim community withdrawing into itself, but rather one of integration, since they want to be able to buy halal
sauerkraut
Sauerkraut (; , "sour cabbage") is finely cut raw cabbage that has been fermented by various lactic acid bacteria. It has a long shelf life and a distinctive sour flavor, both of which result from the lactic acid formed when the bacteria ferme ...
or
spring rolls
Spring rolls are rolled appetizers or dim sum commonly found in Chinese cuisine, Chinese and other Southeast Asia, Southeast Asian cuisines. The kind of wrapper, fillings, and cooking technique used, as well as the name, vary considerably wit ...
". French sales of halal food are forecast to hit 5.5 billion euros for 2010 and according to Bonnel, move "from the ethnic market to the
mass market
The term "mass market" refers to a market for goods produced on a large scale for a significant number of end consumers. The mass market differs from the niche market in that the former focuses on consumers with a wide variety of backgrounds with ...
" due to the beurgeois, who are forcing international food suppliers to cater for their demands and as one French website put it, halal is "very good business" for French companies.
In general, there have been many supermarket chains and packaged-food companies that find the demographic important enough to aim for a share of the halal market. But companies see a potentially lucrative business in supplying religiously sanctioned food to France's growing ranks of young, professional Muslims, who want to eat Western food that is halal. These include:
Nestlé
Nestlé S.A. (; ; ) is a Switzerland, Swiss multinational food and drink processing conglomerate corporation headquartered in Vevey, Vaud, Switzerland. It is the largest publicly held food company in the world, measured by revenue and other me ...
's French operations, supermarket chain
Groupe Casino
Casino Group or Casino Guichard-Perrachon is a French mass-market retail group. It was founded on 2 August 1898 by Geoffroy Guichard under the corporate name Guichard-Perrachon & Co.
Casino Group is the source of many innovations such as the ...
, Pierre Martinet (France's biggest prepared salad maker), fast-food chain
Quick
Quick, as an adjective, refers to something moving with high speed.
Quick may also refer to:
In business
* Quick (restaurant), a Belgian fast-food restaurant chain
* Quick (sportswear), a Dutch manufacturer of sportswear
* Quick (automobile) ...
(which has a number of halal-only burger bars), Hal'shop (a new supermarket in a Paris suburb which sells only halal food- and plenty of French dishes), flourishing Muslim corner shops (selling exclusively halal foods and drinks including eggs, turkey and pork-free sausages as well as alcohol-free "champagne", known as Cham'Alal), as well as
Carrefour
Carrefour () is a French multinational retail and wholesaling corporation headquartered in Massy, France. The eighth-largest retailer in the world by revenue, it operates a chain of hypermarkets, groceries stores and convenience stores, which ...
(the world's second-largest retailer by sales after
Wal-Mart
Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...
), which is considering launching its own line of halal foods.
However, the expansion of halal offerings (that is occurring along with the rise of the beurgeois) is in some cases provoking a backlash. Claude Capillon, the mayor of
Rosny-sous-Bois
Rosny-sous-Bois () is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris.
It is the seat of the national centre of road information of the national gendarmerie.
Population
Heraldry
Transport
Rosny ...
, east of
Paris
Paris () is the capital and 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), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, where the fast-food chain Quick has an all-halal restaurant, sent the company a letter saying it was discriminating against non-Muslim customers. Therefore, some food companies are trying to give their halal products a low profile because of such reactions. After Labeyrie, France's biggest foie gras producer by revenue and a unit of food company Alfesca launched a halal foie gras, some bloggers accused it of funding
Islamic extremists
Islamic extremism, Islamist extremism, or radical Islam, is used in reference to extremist beliefs and behaviors which are associated with the Islamic religion. These are controversial terms with varying definitions, ranging from academic unde ...
. As a result, it sells its halal
pâté
''Pâté'' ( , , ) is a paste, pie or loaf filled with a forcemeat. Common forcemeats include ground meat from pork, poultry, fish or beef; fat, vegetables, herbs, spices and either wine or brandy (often cognac or armagnac). It is often served ...
in a few stores and doesn't advertise it on the company website.
From Pâté to Pizza, Halal Fare Expands for French Muslims
wsj.com, by Max Colchester.
Concerning politics
The beurgeois are not only a useful demographic to retailers but also to French politicians—and somewhat unlike their previous generations, the group does not intend have higher levels of apathy when it comes to the relationship of the sector to the country's government. It has been noted that the demographic has a greater interest in domestic politics, in order to make their voices heard as French citizens contributing to the culture and political climate of their country.
Beurgeois people
Among the hundreds of prominent beurgeois (i.e. not including less prominent beurgeois) that are senior civil servants
The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...
, entrepreneurs, artists, doctors etc., some include:
*Mourad Boudjellal
Mourad Boudjellal (born 5 June 1960) is a French businessman, founder of Soleil Productions comic publishing and sport manager. He was born on 5 June 1960 in Ollioules, near Toulon, on the French Riviera.
Presidency of Toulonnais
In 2006, Bou ...
- owner of Soleil Productions
Soleil Productions is a French publisher of both original and imported comic books.
History
Soleil was founded in 1989 in Toulouse.
Soleil quickly became known as a publisher of cartoons and parodies such as Rahan, Blek le Roc et Tarzan. It so ...
, publishers of some of France's favourite cartoonists, has been presented in a documentary on television as the beurgeois prototype
A prototype is an early sample, model, or release of a product built to test a concept or process. It is a term used in a variety of contexts, including semantics, design, electronics, and Software prototyping, software programming. A prototyp ...
.
*Jamel Debbouze
Jamel Debbouze (; ar, جمال دبوز, Jamāl Dabūz; born 18 June 1975) is a French-Moroccan actor, comedian, screenwriter, film producer and director. Best known for his stand-up comedy sketches, he also worked with director Alain Chabat in ...
- one of the best-paid actors in French show business.
*Tahar Rahim
Tahar Rahim (born 4 July 1981) is a Franco-Algerian actor. He is known for his starring role as Malik El Djebena in the 2009 award-winning French movie ''A Prophet'' by Jacques Audiard, FBI Agent Ali Soufan in ''The Looming Tower'', Judas in the ...
- the first Frenchman of Maghrebi descent awarded the César for best male actor, among other awards.
See also
*Islam in France
Islam in France is a minority faith. Muslims are estimated to represent around 4 to 8 percent of the nation's population and France is estimated to have the largest number of Muslims in the Western world, primarily due to migration from Maghr ...
*Demographics of France
The demography of France is monitored by the Institut national d'études démographiques (INED) and the Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques (INSEE). As of 1 January 2021, 65,250,000 people lived in Metropolitan Fra ...
*List of portmanteaus
This is a selection of portmanteau words.
Animals Hybrids
* cama, from camel and llama
* cattalo, from cattle and buffalo
* donkra, from donkey and zebra (progeny of donkey stallion and zebra mare) cf. zedonk below
* geep, from goat and sheep ...
References
The “beurgeois”: French citizens till the contrary is proven
by Ghania Khelifi.
Notes
External links
{{Socialclass
Demographics of France
French people of Arab descent
French people of Berber descent
Society of France
Islam in France
Social class in France
Stereotypes of the middle class
Bourgeoisie