Franco-Malian singer Aya Nakamura has been at the centre of a widespread debate in France for many years. Nakamura released her first album ‘Journal Intime’ in 2017, and since then she has been gaining more and more traction, especially among young people in France. Songs like ‘Djadja’ and ‘Copines’ swept through francophone Tik Tok with the latter being used in 1.9 million videos according to TikTok’s own sound usage tracker. Nakamura also reached an international audience who praised Nakamura’s rhythms and ‘diva’ attitude. This rise in popularity unfortunately has not come without consequences for Nakamura, as her lyrics and performances have become a target for traditionalist and conservative views surrounding the French language.
Nakamura sings a modernised style of the French language, a style not unique to her which has been continuously evolving in Parisian suburbs and on Gen Z social media. Her songs are punctuated by slang terms and foreign loan words. For example, one of her most popular songs, ‘Djadja’ features phrases like ‘Mais ça va pas? Mais t’es taré, ou ouais,’ (What’s wrong with you? Are you crazy or what) featuring a heavy influence from modern slang, with the words ‘Taré’ and ‘Ouais’ being popular versions for ‘Fou’ (Mad) and ‘Oui’ respectively. Many songs also show anglophone influence. Her hit song ‘Pookie,’ a title derived from popular English Gen Z slang, features several English refrains (‘Million d’dollars, bébé tu vaux ça.’) Nakamura’s lyrics suggest the flexibility of the French language and represent the reality of many of its speakers today.
However, this image of linguistic versatility has struck a hateful chord with many French people, placing the singer at the centre of a controversy rooted in racism and national exclusion. Nakamura seems to take pleasure in her somewhat polemic image: during her performance at the 2024 Olympic games in Paris, she performed a remix of the classic and emblematic French song ‘Formidable’ by Charles Aznavour, wherein she discusses changes to her vocabulary, and ironically sings about her use of ‘La Langue de Moliere’, a phrase used to describe traditional and ‘pure’ French language- a ‘purity’ she actively challenges. In response to Nakamura’s inclusion in the 2024 Olympics, the far-right activist group ‘Les Natifs’ installed a banner which read, ‘YA PAS MOYEN AYA ICI C’EST PARIS PAS LE MARCHÉ DE BAMAKO’ (There is no way Aya, this is Paris not the markets in Bamako), a direct attack on Nakamura and her identity as a Franco-Malian performer. Nakamura responded to this by publicly burning down the banner, however, what does the turbulent response reveal about the social landscape of France?
Much of the backlash that Nakamura has received comes from the mouths of French conservatives, who see her modified language and transnational lyrics as an attack against the French language and society. France has been plagued with the fear of linguistic change for many centuries, hence the creation of the Académie Francaise by Cardinal Richelieu in 1635, which aimed to preserve the French language. In the 20th and 21st centuries, however, this concern has only increased with the rise in immigration in France. Nakamura’s critics often pick out her West African influence, in songs like ‘Kouma’ (A word meaning ‘To Speak'), and the focus on this immigrational influence represents France’s growing resistance of foreign influence in French culture. Nakamura’s reception suggests a racist and discriminatory mindset, which is gaining traction in France with the growing popularity of the right-wing political party; ‘Rassemblement National.’ According to election tracking website PolitPro, in France’s 2024 Parliamentary election, the Rassemblement National had 29% of votes. Whilst this did not grant them a majority, it is a shocking increase from the election of 2017, wherein they received 13%, suggesting a society moving quickly towards right-wing ideology. Nakamura has become not only a symbol of the beauty of transnational identity and culture, but also a target of racism and conservatism, with many listeners perceiving her lyrics as the ruin of ‘La langue de Moliere,’ with right wing traditionalists in France like ‘Les Natifs’ taking to social media to critique Aya Nakamura, focusing on her alternative usage of the French language, as they prefer linguistic and social traditionalism to integration and acceptance.
Nakamura’s art and performances have been seen by some as a grave threat, and whilst it is not a nationwide mindset, these conservative views tend to be the loudest, especially in a country which is slowly but surely moving towards a far-right, discriminatory attitude towards culture and society. France has always concerned itself with linguistic austerity and valour, however the Académie Francaise’s reluctance to accept the natural ebb and flow of linguistic variation forms part of a widely accepted view of conservatism, which smothers diversity and change. Nevertheless, Nakamura has not let this response mar her career. Her fifth studio album ‘Destinée Supremacy’ released in May of 2026 was an enormous success, placing in several charts in France, and appealing to her already strong fanbase as she continues to produce the music she wants, overcoming right wing discriminatory slander.
Sources:
Genius Media Group Inc. (2024). Genius | song lyrics & knowledge. [online] Genius. Available at: https://genius.com/ [Accessed 13 Oct. 2026].
