for members of the population who lived in rural areas, and another for members of the urban population. Te urban area, known as the “Four Communes,” was made up of the cities of Saint Louis, Dakar, Rufisque and Goree. Inhabitants of these areas, known as originaires, received rights of French citizenship in 1848 and were promised administrative and civil service positions in exchange for their mastery of French language and culture. Tey were also allowed to send a representative to the French National Assembly, France’s major governing body. In the rural areas the French were much more hands-off, typically choosing to govern through intermediaries like marabouts (Muslim religious leaders) and local aristocrats who would share their profit with France. Te aſtermath of World War II saw an increase of national political groups in Senegal. In 1945 Lamine Gueye, a local lawyer and activist, was elected, along with his protégée Leopold Sédar Senghor, to the French National Assembly. Two years later, Gueye proposed a bill that required the French to afford Senegalese people the same rights as French citizens. Te bill passed, and the Senegalese people would gain independence from France on April 4, 1960.


Today, France continues to be Senegal’s top European consumer and their third largest consumer worldwide. It is also Senegal’s leading supplier and investor, and continues to play a major role in Senegalese development and infrastructure.


Senegalese woman at the World Social Forum Te Senegalese in France


Te first Senegalese people to arrive in France were members of the French colonial army who settled in Marseille harbor aſter fighting in World War II. In the mid-1970s, the country of Senegal entered into a period of economic crisis, the effects of which they are still


struggling with today. During the 1960s,


France experienced a period of economic prosperity and many Senegalese men migrated to the country in the hopes of earning enough money to support their families. Te French welcomed this increase in their workforce, and thus immigration from French colonies was fairly easy and required minimal documentation. By 1974, in the face of rising unemployment and a stagnant economy,


the French government sought Portrait of Lamine Gueye in Dakar, Senegal


Despite this fact, the two countries continue to remain economically and politically intertwined in the present day. As one writer stated, the French have “[replaced] direct rule for substantial influence.”


15


to bring an end to immigration. New policies were enacted that made it difficult for anyone, other than the families of immigrants already living in France, to enter the country. During this period, immigration was largely restricted to women and children. Tis sudden appearance of immigrant families, in addition to the large numbers of male immigrants already living in France, led to greater visibility of


the Senegalese immigrant


http://www.flickr.com/photos/angela7/381998085/


http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LamineGu%C3%A8ye.jpg


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