Le tourisme Citroën au Sahara (1924-1925)
2000; Presses de Sciences Po; Volume: 68; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
10.3406/xxs.2000.3937
ISSN1950-6678
Autores Tópico(s)Multiculturalism, Politics, Migration, Gender
ResumoCitroën and Tourism in the Sahara (1924-1925). CEGETAF/CITRACIT(1924-1925) was an ambitions project initiated by André Citroën to establish a regular automobile service between French North Africa and French West Africa and at the same time to attract high-end tourism to the colonies. The project was a total failure ; the hotels that Citroën built in the middle of the desert were sold offto the army before they were ever used, and Citroën himself refused to speak ofthe plan after its cancel-lation. However, the elaboration of this project provides an interesting case study of the political and cultural ramifications of an attempt to rationalize the French Empire both geographically and symbolically. Despite its ultimate failure, the short history of CITRACIT shows Citroën 's understanding of the prevalling colonial psychology. Couching his argument in terms of technical rationalization rather than of military conquest, and adding an element of fantasy that would appeal to the bud-ding tourist market, Citroën was able to garner considerable support from the French State for his venture. The silence thatfollowed the cancellation of the project was complete, though the name of Citroën was linked in the press to another major mission, the Croisière noire, a journey across Africa in Citroën-made vehicles. This diversion of public attention confirms the extent to which the French Empire remained an unknown in the public imag ination during the interwar period ; the idea of the Empire could therefore be easily manipulated according to the political climate in the metropole.
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