pied noir
/pjeɪ ˈnwɑː
/ /pje nwaʀ/noun (plural pieds noirs pronounced same)
A person of European origin who lived in Algeria during French rule, especially one who returned to Europe after Algeria was granted independence.The wine industry was revolutionized in the 1960s with the repatriation of many French pieds noirs from Algeria....
- Algeria presented an acute problem because the overall prospects for eventual integration of the French community - the pieds noirs - within an independent FLN-controlled state were not bright.
- In the same vein, deeming the repatriation to France of the pieds noirs (the European settlers in Algeria) and their integration into metropolitan society to have been ‘smooth’ is, at best, an exaggeration.
Origin
French, literally 'black foot', so named because of the western-style black leather shoes worn by the first colonists.