''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 Maghreb (; ), also known as the Arab Maghreb () and Northwest Africa, is the western part of the Arab world. The region comprises western and central North Africa, including Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia. The Maghreb al ...

. The equivalent term for a female ''beur'' is a ''beurette''. However, the term ''beurette'' is condemned and criticized by several anti-racist organizations because of the

xenophobic Xenophobia (from (), 'strange, foreign, or alien', and (), 'fear') is the fear or dislike of anything that is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression that is based on the perception that a conflict exists between an in-gr ...

and degrading connotation that this word has taken on over the decades (in particular because of the fetishization of

North African North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

women in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

as well as an insult stemming from

colonialism Colonialism is the control of another territory, natural resources and people by a foreign group. Colonizers control the political and tribal power of the colonised territory. While frequently an Imperialism, imperialist project, colonialism c ...

: for several years the racial category ''beurette'' was the most popular in France on porn sites). The term ''rebeu'' is neither applicable to females nor does it have a female version.

Use

The word ''beur'' was coined using

verlan The verlan word "pineco" comes from "copine". () 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 in ...

for the word ''arabe'', which means Arabic or Arab in French. Since the late 1990s, many young people have used the twice-verlanised term ''rebeu'' as a synonym. This term is now the dominant term used by the younger generations (under 30). The word ''beurette'', the female version of ''beur'', is created by adding the -ette female suffix in French. In French many slang words are created by simply reversing the word in terms of spelling and then reading it out. Because of French grammar rules, the new word is usually completely different from the result of reversing the word phonetically. The word ''

beurgeois A beurgeois is a middle-class (and upwards) Muslim born in a working-class area of France to parents of Maghrebi origin, who continues to proclaim their roots and who is aged between 30 and 40 years old with a successful professional career, a high ...

'' is derived from a combination of the words ''beur'' and ''

bourgeois The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and Aristocracy (class), aristocracy. They are tradition ...

''. The term is mostly used in French-speaking European countries ― France, Belgium, Monaco, Luxembourg and Switzerland ― as well as in the

. Due to cultural integration between such peoples across Europe, the term is now popular in other parts of Europe with a large Maghrebi community, such as the UK, Spain, the Netherlands and Italy. Since 1992, the BEUR.FM radio station has broadcast nationwide (106.7 FM in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

).BEUR.FM
Accessed 2012-01-11 Image:Rachid Taha.jpg, A ''beur'' rockstar :

Rachid Taha Rachid Taha (, Latn, ar, Rashīd Ṭāhā, ; 18 September 1958 – 12 September 2018) was an Algerian people, Algerian singer and activist based in France described as "sonically adventurous". His music was influenced by many different styles in ...

. , alt=A beur rockstar : Rachid Taha. Image:Leïla Bekhti Cannes 2014 2.jpg, A ''beur'' actress :

Leïla Bekhti Yasmine Leïla Bekhti (born 6 March 1984) is a French film and television actress. She is best known for her roles in '' Tout ce qui brille'' (2010) and, in 2006, '' Paris, je t'aime'' and '' Sheitan''. Early life Bekhti was born in 1984 in Iss ...

. , alt=A beur actress : Leïla Bekhti. Image:Ramzy Bedia Cannes 2012.jpg, A ''beur'' humorist :
Ramzy Bedia. , alt=A beur humorist : Ramzy Bedia. Image:Rachida dati.jpg, A ''beur'' politician :

Rachida Dati Rachida Dati (, ; born 27 November 1965) is a French politician and former magistrate who has been Minister of Culture (France), Minister of Culture since January 2024 in the Attal government, government of Gabriel Attal, the Barnier government, ...

. , alt=A beur politician : Rachida Dati. Image:Ali Baddou César 2016.jpg, A ''beur'' intellectual :
. , alt=A beur intellectual : Ali Baddou r

References

External links

‘Beurettes’, genealogy of a contemporary insult. Gender and race matters in France.
by the Gender, Race & Sexuality (GRaSe) Working Group, an interdisciplinary working group at the

European University Institute The European University Institute (EUI) is an international postgraduate and post-doctoral research-intensive university and an intergovernmental organisation with juridical personality, established by its founding member states to contribu ...

(EUI)
La Beurgeoisie
The French website for successful "Beurs". {{Authority control Society of France French words and phrases French people of Arab descent Arabs in France

Use

See also

References

Further reading

External links