When Armenians Take to the Streets: The 1979 March from Lyon and the Struggle for Genocide Recognition in France
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51442/ijags.0073Keywords:
diaspora, Armenians, mobilization, genocide, marchAbstract
This article examines how and why French Armenian activists mobilized around the recognition of the Armenian Genocide in late 1970s France. It suggests that Armenian street protests had a performative impact, consistently inserting the genocide issue into the French public sphere through a transnational repertoire of activism. These actions reflected overlapping identities, French, Armenian, diasporic, and global, and demonstrated how diasporic communities respond to both local and international events. By situating the Armenian case within the broader protest culture of the 1970s, the article highlights the value of using connected histories and multiple chronologies to understand diasporic political engagement.
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