Nicola Cooper of Northampton University has published Biribi: Disciplining and punishing in the French Empire, 29 French Cult. Stud. 321 (2018). The abstract advises:This article discusses the infamous Bataillons d’Afrique to which French former criminals were sent to complete their duty of military service. The ‘Bat d’Af’ were created to prevent the young male bourgeoisie from having to mix with these ‘undesirables’ and ‘reprobates’, and they were stationed well away from the mainland in France’s North African colonies. This article discusses themes such as discipline, punishment, torture, homosexuality, interracial power relations, and delinquent ‘cultures’ in this imperial context.A related article from a decade ago is John Cerullo, The Aernoult-Rousset Affair: Military Justice on Trial in Belle Époque France, 34 Hist. Reflections 4 (Summer 2008).
The heart of the matter: brutality, unfairness in the French military justice system and -- surprise! -- determined resistance to change.
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