Carte de Séjour

Carte de Séjour was a French rock band. The group was founded in 1980 by Rachid Taha (vocals), Djamel Dif (drums), Mokhtar Amini (bass guitar), Mohamed Amini (guitar) and Éric Vaquer (guitar).

Jérôme Savy ex-Arsenic joined some time later replacing Éric Vaquer. The band's producer was Bernard Meyet on the Mosquito record label. "Carte de Séjour" gained prominence in France particularly with the French-Algerian community with their song Douce France from Charles Trenet. The band split in 1990.

History

After a number of television appearances, the band released their first self-title "Carte de séjour". Soon guitarist Éric Vaquer quit and was replaced by Jérôme Savy, a guitarist from the French band Arsenic. Eventually Djamel Dif also quit without being replaced after disagreements particularly with Rachid Taha.

After a major concert at the "Palais des sports" and performance at "Place de la Bastille" during the "Marche des beurs", the band gained national reputation across France. The song that became a turning point for establishing their fame was their rendition of Douce France from Charles Trenet, as it played an important role in raising societal questions about the status of the Beurs, descendants of immigrants of North African origin living in France and the struggle against mounting right-wing and racist policies of "Front national" in France.