This research study proposes to shed new light on the discursive phenomena which led to the evolution of mentalities and the transformation of sensibilities in contemporary France, through the growing visibility and prise de parole of the population known as the youth of Maghribi origins, also called “Beurs.” In an interdisciplinary study, I propose a classification of four categories of discourse, which offer both a representation of the collective imaginary of the youth of Maghribi origins and of the French majority, namely: the discourses of political science, social sciences, the media and the youth themselves. I analyze the discourses of the youth through their political and artistic prise de parole, and more specifically through their literary production, with an emphasis on the novel.

This thesis therefore questions the different types of discourse contributing to the formation of certain perceptions of what “francéité” is, that is to say what it means to be French today, for the minority of the youth of Maghribi origins and for the French majority. It seemed to me important to do so, for until today, no research has focused on discursive phenomena that demonstrate a change in mentalities and a transformation of sensibilities, which in turn could translate into what I call the birth of the “New Citizen”. These “New Citizens,” formerly disenfranchized in French society, are citizens of France, recognized as such in the fullness of their rights.

The central question around which this thesis is structured is: how in an emerging cultural space do different types of discourse work together toward the invention of the “New Citizen”? My analysis focuses on the different reactions expressed in the narrative discourse of novels written by youth of Maghribi origins, which I find responsible for subverting pre-established models.

In order to answer this question, my research revolves around two original concepts: social extraneity and social intraneity. These concepts offer the theoretical basis in light of which I analyze the issues implied in the socio-political context of the rise of what has been called “the Beur movement.” On the one hand, these concepts allow us to confirm or deny the types of discourse at stake and show how, on the other hand, the youth of Maghribi origins manage to inhabit the public sphere on the artistic and political levels, never to leave it again.