French national myth claimed that all French people were descended from the Celtic Gauls (ignoring the many Germanic, Roman, Frankish etc. populations that also contributed), and nineteenth-century history textbooks often began "nos ancêtres les Gaulois" (our ancestors, the Gauls...) These textbooks were also used in the French colonies, even among peoples who of course had no genetic link to the ancient Gauls. However, the purpose was to mould the colonised peoples into being "French"; this is referred to ironically in the film.
