French Immagration

Category: Immigration

Sean Maher


Statistics


Population: 60,656,178 (July 2005 est.)

Ethnic groups: Celtic and Latin with Teutonic, Slavic, North African, Indochinese, Basque minorities

Birth rate: 12.91 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)

Death rate: 8.55 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)

Net migration rate: 1.52 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)

Reasons for immigration or emigration


According to the OECD in 2006, the predominate reason for migration to France in 2004 was family reunification. 11.9 percent come for work, 6.5 seeking asylum, and 17.3 for other reasons. Previous to 1974 most immigrants were workers, however during the early 70’s, due to unemployment, France stopped recruiting workers. However many workers already in the country continued to bring their families in, and family reunification became a major source of immigration. Many immigrants are from former French colonies in North Africa or Asia, and many are Muslims. Large numbers of asylum seekers in France seek to escape to Britain, where asylum laws are more generous, attempting to leave the Sangate facility in France and sneak across the Euro tunnel, and France’s inability to prevent these persons from crossing the Euro tunnel is a major point of contention with the British.


Political and Social Reactions to Immigration and Related Issues.


Although, like the braceros of America, early on France invited the workers, of late, they have begun to regret their earlier decision. They officially stopped inviting persons into the country in 1974, and since then there have been varying degrees of xenophobia in the French people. They have enacted new laws, limiting the immigration of families and attempting to limit immigration to skilled and educated persons. Further complicating things is the fact that many immigrants are north African Muslims in what is advertised as a secular nation with a catholic past. There are numerous cultural clashes, borne out of the idea that one cannot be simultaneously a Frenchman and religious. One recent conflict was on a ban on all religious paraphernalia in state schools, which included the headscarves which all muslin women are encouraged to wear upon reaching puberty to maintain modesty. They were banned in French schools, sparking outrage, protest, and even hostage taking in the middle east. Further, the 2005 riots, caused as a result of the deaths of two north African teens as a result of police pursuit, largely erupted because the Muslim community felt marginalized and prosecuted.

Recent immigration laws have been aimed at increasing integration and preventing sans papiers, or persons in the country without the correct documents. France characterized their current policy as “integrationist,” aiming to assimilate immigrants to French society. They have gone so far as to institute an integration contract, which provides new immigrants with language and civics classes. The penalty for immigrants guilty of crime are unusually high, including deportation in some cases. However the French government has also made some efforts to prevent discrimination against immigrants, with some efficacy.