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The French-Italian Border at Menton-Ventimiglia: A Site of Perennial Conflict, Brotherhood, and Mediatisation

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Debordering Europe

Part of the book series: Migration, Diasporas and Citizenship ((MDC))

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Abstract

Since the French annexation of the Maritime Alps (1860), phases of exchange and mutual integration alternate with phases of strong tension in French-Italian relations. The paper identifies three main historical periods united by a constant hyper-mediatization of this border area. Through the analysis of postcards, documentaries, newsreels and television broadcasts, this chapter analyses the evolution of French-Italian relations through the lens of media representations of French/Italian border of Maritime Alps since 1860 until the present time. After a phase of quasi-irrelevance of the border, inaugurated by the new EU “Schengen age”, migrations of international refugees and terrorist attacks led to a new acute tension between Italy and France, with the resumption of the political and symbolic relevance of the border, the suspension of the Schengen Treaty and the militarization of the border itself.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The territory of the Maritime Alps from Menton to the river Var.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Studi Internazionali, Giuridici e Storico-Politici, Facoltà di Scienze Politiche Economiche e Sociali, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy

    Sandro Rinauro

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  1. Sandro Rinauro
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Correspondence to Sandro Rinauro .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Genoa, Genova, Italy

    Livio Amigoni

  2. Politecnico di Torino, Turin, Italy

    Silvia Aru

  3. Political Science, Roma Tre University, Rome, Italy

    Ivan Bonnin

  4. University of Gastronomic Sciences, Pollenzo, Italy

    Gabriele Proglio

  5. Department of Anthropology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

    Cecilia Vergnano

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Rinauro, S. (2021). The French-Italian Border at Menton-Ventimiglia: A Site of Perennial Conflict, Brotherhood, and Mediatisation. In: Amigoni, L., Aru, S., Bonnin, I., Proglio, G., Vergnano, C. (eds) Debordering Europe. Migration, Diasporas and Citizenship. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56518-3_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56518-3_3

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-56517-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-56518-3

  • eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)

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