Tunisian naturalization issue
| Tunisian naturalization issue | |||
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| Part of the Tunisian national movement | |||
Monastirian delegation led by Habib Bourguiba to protest after the attempted burial of a naturalized in Monastir.
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| Date | December 31, 1932 - August 7, 1933 | ||
| Location | Bizerte, Hammam Lif, Ferryville, Kairouan, Tunis and Monastir | ||
| Causes | Refusal to bury the French naturalized Muslims in Muslim cemeteries. | ||
| Methods | Cemeteries blockade Riots Press campaign |
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| Result | Creation of special cemeteries Reviving Tunisian nationalism Decrease of naturalization requests |
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The Tunisian naturalization issue was a protest movement against Tunisian laws that eased access to French citizenship in 1933, during the French protectorate of Tunisia. It was active by prohibiting the burial of Muslim Tunisians who had adopted French nationality in Muslim cemeteries. These riots revived the Tunisian national movement, weakened after the 1926-28 repression.
The first laws allowing Tunisians to obtain French citizenship were enacted in 1887, six years after the protectorate's establishment. The law of July 29, 1887, specified:
Article 1 :
May, after the age of twenty-one, be allowed to enjoy the rights of French citizens, the Tunisian subject that will have served three years in the French army of land or sea, or who has performed duties or civilian jobs paid by the French Treasury.
Article 2 :
The three-year time limit is reduced to one year for the individuals mentioned in the previous article that would have rendered France with exceptional services.
Article 3 :
Will also be allowed to enjoy the rights of French citizens the Tunisian subjects who, without having served in the armies or performed duties or civilian jobs paid by the French Treasury, will render France with exceptional services.
Article 4 :
The naturalization request is applied to the civil controller of the district in which the applicant has established his residence. The civil controller shall automatically make a survey of the history and character of the applicant [...] In each case, the result of the investigation, with the request and supporting documents are sent to the Resident-general, who passes on the folder, with his reasoned opinion, to the Ministry of Foreign affairs.
This law was repealed without major amendment by the decree of February 28, 1899 and that of October 2, 1910, August 20, 1914 and the decree of November 8, 1921. The 1910 law only expanded the possibility to request naturalization for Tunisian spouses of French women (with children) and for holders of advanced degrees (therefore, acquiered in France), on the condition of having been refused a voluntary commitment.
However, the reactions to the 1921 decree, which eased the access to French citizenship for foreigners born in Tunisia, were vivid. Some Tunisian newspapers criticized this "attack on Tunisian citizenship" and reckoned the French government could give foreigners Tunisian nationality if needed by reforming Tunisian courts. On the other hand, others found it normal for Christian foreigners born in Tunisia to obtain French citizenship rather than Tunisian.
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Wikipedia