Skinhead Trends in France and Their Rituals: A Psycho-Sociological Approach to Their Apolitical Concerts

This paper is a theoretical comment based on long participant observation in France. While it is not a detailed presentation of the empirical results, it does summarize its main lines. The aim is to highlight the nuances of commitment, the collective memory, and the intergroup relationships that structure concrete and significant interactions among French skinheads. Three processes explain the development of apolitical skinhead concerts in France since the late 1990s: a. the establishment of resistance through rituals and the affirmation of belonging to the same community; b. the need to experience a hypnotic crowd trance; c. the ambivalence of these communities in the face of intercultural relationships and mixed global music. These three psycho-sociological characteristics influence the French replication of a typically and historically British youth culture. The skinhead rituals observed at apolitical concerts are reproductive, conservative, fetishist, ritualistic. They aim to establish the broad outlines of common stylistic identity. Moreover, the social representation of the skinhead is like a heritage, which allows the actualization of a memory of the provocation of violence and anger. Finally, this social representation is linked to a continual dissemination of its associated musical styles specific to these circles (ska, rocksteady, early reggae, street-punk, and Oi!).