Protest song
France

" The Internationale " (" L'Internationale " in French) is a socialist, anarchist, communist, and social-democratic anthem.

"The Internationale" became the anthem of international socialism. Its original French refrain is C'est la lutte finale/ Groupons-nous et demain/ L'Internationale/ Sera le genre humain. (Freely translated: "This is the final struggle/ Let us join together and tomorrow/ The Internationale/ Will be the human race.") The "Internationale" has been translated into most of the world's languages. Traditionally it is sung with the hand raised in a clenched fist salute. "The Internationale" is sung not only by communists but also (in many countries) by socialists or social democrats. The Chinese version was also a rallying song of the students and workers at the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.

There is not so much a protest song trend in France, but rather of a permanent background of criticism and contestation, and individuals who personify it. World War II and its horrors forced French singers to think more critically about war in general, forcing them to question their governments and the powers who ruled their society.

Jazz trumpeter and singer Boris Vian 's was one of the first to protest against the Algerian war with his anti-war song "Le déserteur" (The deserter), which was banned by the government.

Several French songwriters, such as Léo Ferré (1916–1993), Georges Brassens (1921–1981), Jacques Brel (1929–1978) (actually a Belgian singer), Maxime Le Forestier (born 1949) or interpreters (Yves Montand, Marcel Mouloudji, Serge Reggiani, Graeme Allwright...) often wrote or sang songs aligned against majority ideas and political powers. Because racial tensions did not rise to the same levels as those in the United States, criticism was focused more toward bourgeoisie, power, religion, and songs defending liberty of thought, speech and action. After 1945, immigration became a source of inspiration for some singers: Pierre Perret (born 1934), well known for his humorous songs, started writing several more "serious" and committed songs against racism ("Lily", 1977), which critically pointed out everyday racist behaviour in French society.

Brassens wrote several songs protesting war, hate, intolerance ("Les Deux Oncles", "La Guerre de 14–18", "Mourir pour des idées" "Les Patriotes"...), against chauvinism ("La Ballade des gens qui sont nés quelque part"), against bourgeoisie ("La Mauvaise Réputation", "Les Philistins"...). He was often called "anarchist" because of his songs on representatives of law and order (and religion) (" Le Gorille " "Hécatombe" "Le Nombril des femmes d'agents", "Le Mécréant"...).

Ferré was also called an "anarchist". He sang against consumerism ("Vitrines", "Chanson mécanisée", " Il n'y a plus rien "...), against French war ("Miss guéguerre", "Pacific blues", "Regardez-les", "Mon général", "Les Temps difficiles", "La Marseillaise"), death penalty ("Ni Dieu ni maître", "La Mort des loups"), Estate control ("La Gueuse", "La Complainte de la télé", "La Révolution", "Le Conditionnel de variétés"), illusion of representative democracy ("Ils ont voté", "La Grève"), dictatorships ("Franco la muerte", "Allende", " La Violence et l'Ennui "), sexual hypocrisy and freedom (" Le Chien ", " Le Mal ", "Ton style", " La Damnation "...).

Brel's work is another ode to freedom ("Ces gens-là", "Les Bourgeois", "Jaurès", "Les Bigotes", "Le Colonel", "Le Caporal Casse-Pompon").
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