Mar 04 2022 5 mins
Forty-five years after her death, France decided to induct Josephine Baker, the African American-born singer/performer, into the monument for its most veneered citizens.
Josephine Baker had lived the majority of her adult life in France, adopting French life, language, and even working briefly during the Second World War as a spy for the French Resistance.
Her induction to the Pantheon seems to be a testament to French egalitarianism, and France’s embrace of people coming from diverse backgrounds.
However, a closer look at France's past, may reveal signs that Baker’s induction perhaps isn’t as bright or fantastical as one might think, or believe.