This article is about the French historian and politician. Not to be confused with Pape Seydou N'Diaye.
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Pap Ndiaye (French pronunciation:[papɛndjaj]) is a French historian and politician who has been serving as France's Ambassador to the Council of Europe since 2023.[1]
As an academic, Ndiaye focused on transnational philosophies of race that draw both from American and French political thought, especially as they apply to the African diaspora populations of both countries. His appointment to the government by President Emmanuel Macron drew criticisms from the far-right and parts of the traditional right.[2][3]
Early life and education
Ndiaye was born in Antony, Hauts-de-Seine, south of Paris, to a Senegalese father and a French mother. His sister is the writer Marie NDiaye, winner of the 2009 Prix Goncourt (she spells their surname with two uppercase letters, whereas he spells it with one).
Upon returning to France, Ndiaye became a lecturer at the School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences. The focus of his research agenda became understanding the history of racially discrimatory practices in France and in America.[5] He was one of the first researchers in France to compare the history of the African diaspora in France and in the United States. Together with Patrick Lozès, the future president of the Representative Council of France's Black Associations, Ndiaye co-founded the Action Committee for the Promotion of Diversity in France.[6]
In 2012, Ndiaye became a faculty member at Sciences Po.[7] He has been a member of the Centre d'études nord-américaines (Center for North American studies) and has been an editor of the journal L'Histoire. He has also published pieces in the news media.[8]
Ndiaye's surprise appointment came with widespread criticism from the far-right, Marine Le Pen, Jordan Bardella, and Éric Zemmour, but also some Republicans.[12][3] The weekly Marianne presented him as "the importer of black studies in France" and called his positioning an "ambivalence".[13] In 2017, Ndiaye had comments on structural racism in France, explaining that according to him there is racism in the State, which can be found in some institutions like police, but it's not a racism from the State[14][15][16] In a 2021 interview with Le Monde, Ndiaye stated he did not experience racism growing up in France and only "realised that [he] was black" when he was 25 while studying in the United States.[17]
A poll conducted towards 1002 persons in the late summer 2022 by CSA for CNews found that 62% of respondents (24% not at all, 38% rather not) did not fully trust Ndiaye to fulfil his duties as Education Minister.[18][19]
The head of the educational trade union (SGEN-CFDT), Catherine Nave-Bekhti,[20] as well as educational specialist Philippe Meirieu,[21] and former education minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem[22] suggested that Pap Ndiaye lost his position as Education Minister on 20 July in part due to his reply the week before to the constant criticism from CNews and Europe 1, in which he said that these two outlets, owned by billionaire Vincent Bolloré, had become far-right news outlets.[23]
Selected works
Du nylon et des bombes: DuPont de Nemours, le marché et l'État américain (Of nylon and bombs: Dupont de Nemours, the market and the American state), 2001
La Condition noire (The Black condition), 2008
Les Noirs américains : en marche pour l'égalité (Black Americans: On the march for equality), 2009
