Are You “Franco-Pondicherrian”?

It always makes me smile when hearing someone ask me “Are you franco-pondicherrian?” Though I truly understand what this question entails, I cannot prevent myself time and again from thinking “what on earth does he mean?”. Yet, anyone who will have spent time in Pondicherry will have got to hear of this expression at some point or another.

What makes this expression bizarre is the fact that you would normally call someone who had a dual French and Indian citizenship, a “Franco-Indian” (or “Indo-French” for those who feel slightly more inclined towards the Indian side!). Putting aside the fact that India does not recognize dual nationality yet, the question remains, what is a “franco-pondicherrian” then? Is it a dual French and Indian citizen whose roots are from Pondicherry? Well, it appears that a franco-pondicherrian is in fact a French citizen who, despite not being from a legal point of view Indian, is still referred to by his origins to the Indian city of Pondicherry. I guess this term allows to differentiate between the French nationals and Indian nationals who both consider themselves as being truly Pondicherrians. Though it always takes me aback when hearing this term, in a strange way, I relate to it at the same time.

Being myself a French national whose roots are from Pondicherry, using this term immediately conveys a sense of where I belong to and where I come from. It conveniently bridges these two cultures to which French nationals who hail from Pondicherry are often profoundly attached to. Per se, the term is probably misleading, as a franco-pondicherrian is entirely French from a legal point of view and, as to my knowledge, there are no people of former French colonies called this way, but then again, this is a specificity that is somewhat amusing. Critics might say that this is an unfair way of distinguishing French people according to their country/place of origin and there may be a truth to this.

Would it be more socially acceptable to say “French of Indian origin”? Or why not “French of Pondicherrian origin”? But does this make much of a difference all said and done? I see utter confusion when I tell the person asking me whether I am a franco-pondicherrian, that I am in fact French, American, and Pondicherrian all at the same time! I guess this comes to show how diverse the inhabitants of Pondicherry are today, and what makes this city a truly charming melting pot.