Abstract
Using the example of the Moroccan author Abdelkébir Khatibi and his autobiographical novel La Mémoire tatouée, the chapter shows the complex relations of the former French colonies with Paris as a cultural center. It focuses on his conception of French as a language of creation, the emancipatory tendencies he applies to metropolitan French, his unique treatment of language.
It draws attention to the motif of bifurcation reflecting the given post-colonial situation, which runs through Khatibi's entire work.