La modernisation de Tunis : un urbanisme et une architecture d’État au miroir d’une anthologie de la percée dans la médina (1881-1987)

This thesis deals with some key moments in the modern urban and architectural history of Tunis, in conjunction with the problematic of building a straight avenue through the historical core of the city : the Medina.This intervention in ancient urban fabric has its origins in an urban modernization project launched by the Beys of Tunis during the 19th century, pursued by the French coloniser from 1881 to 1956 and then by the independent government from 1956 to 1987. The research is organised in three time periods with main focus on the project called “la percée de la Casbah” adopted by the first president Habib Bourguiba at the end of 1959. For several reasons, it has been quoted in a sketchy way in the literature despite its importance in understanding the actual urban and architectural face of the Tunisian capital. In order to understand this chapter more thoroughly, we had to go back to the first attempts of urban improvement of the city conducted by the French coloniser since 1887. Studying further, we were able to identify the direct ancestor of what we called “la Percée Bourguibienne” appearing in the master plan of Tunis in 1948. From the first period (1881-1956), we highlighted the colonial strategies in managing the territory and their relationship to the process of valorisation/devalorisation of the Arab-Islamic heritage. The second period (1956-1964), coinciding with the initiation of decolonization conducted by the independent government since 1955, is being marked by an “open International competition for studying the development of the city of Tunis” organized by the Secretariat of State for public works in collaboration with the International Union of architects. Studying this event and the following seminar, the real political and economic reasons could be unveiled, concealed behind the trivial arguments concerning hygiene, traffic and beautification of Tunis. In order to reinforce this conclusion, the third period (1964-1987) has been dedicated to studying the main projects following the competition. The approach of the authorities focusing on the symbols of power and the obsessive desire to take ownership of them, reduced this improvement plan to a simple redistribution of the symbols of national sovereignty in favor of centralization and personification of the political power. This thesis belongs to the postcolonial studies. It projects a critical point of view on the decolonization in relation to what we named “urbanisme d’état” (urbanism of State). Propelled by a certain perception of Modernity, this urbanism is closely related to the political instrumentalization that puts emphasis on the question of identity and heritage, insists on rupture with the past simultaneously and tends to distract the public conscience from the issues related to territory development and preservation of collective memory. By using both of the methods: the contextual analysis of historical facts and the typomorphological analysis, this research draws attention to the magnitude of some governmental decisions regarding the development of urban space and the conservation of the architectural heritage throughout the time. It also informs about the role of communities, the elite and the professionals in channeling these decisions for or against their right to the city.

Keyphrases: Modernity, Postcolonial, Typomorphology, Tunis, Urbanisme, Public-space, Bourguiba, Architecture, Arab-city, Percée, Heritage, Power, Orientalism, Governance