This article analyzes the main aspects of the debate around memory, identity, and the past in France in the last ten years, from the failure of the discussion on national identity, promoted by the Sarkozy presidency to the memory policies of the Macron presidency, since 2017. In the last decade, the country has repeatedly confronted various events and vicissitudes of its national history, instigating virulent debates and exacerbating conflicts of memories. Three areas are investigated here: the resumption of attention on the Vichy regime and its responsibilities, in particular by the far-right journalist and writer Éric Zemmour, who has repeatedly rehabilitated Marshal Pétain; the discussion on the memory of the Algerian war, prompted by the publication of the “Stora Report”; and finally, the memory of the terrorist attacks of 2015 and the project for a new museummemorial.
