Migration, Integration and Citizenship in France between 1990 and 2018: The State of the Art
This literature review provides a discussion of the significant developments in France’s immigration and integration policies between 1990 and 2018.[1] The paper is written within the framework of the ERC Advanced Grant Project titled “Nativism, Islamophobism and Islamism in the Age of Populism: Culturalisation and Religionisation of what is Social, Economic and Political in Europe”[2] (ISLAM-OPHOB-ISM).
This paper focuses on the Maghrebi, Muslim-origin migrants as there is a long history of emigration from Morocco to France, which also means that there is a sizable settled Moroccan community in France[3]. Nonetheless, while research on Moroccan-origin migrants comprise a significant part of the research on migration and integration in France, Turkish-origin migrants also receive extensive attention in the literature.
In this sense, there is a comprehensive literature on Muslim-origin migrants in France. As will be discussed in this literature review, France’s migration and immigration policies are widely-discussed in relation to the securitisation of migration after September 11, restrictive measures, both actual and proposed, associated with various political figures, including Nicolas Sarkozy as well as Jean-Marie and Marine Le Pen. To that end, as will be shown in this review, the French case is marked by varying discourses which constantly explore and (re)articulate the relations between laicite and religious communities.
A such, the paper follows significant developments such as elections, new discourses, the rise of populism and the rising terrorist threats in the country in a chronological manner. However, it does not assess the impact and reception of these elements from the perspective of the migrant communities. It rather constitutes a study into the context which has shaped the experiences of migrants and their descendants.
[1] I would like to thank Ayhan Kaya, Max Valentin Roberts, Jais Adam-Troian, and Ayşenur Benevento for their support, suggestions and remarks during the writing of this report.
[2] This project with the acronym of “ISLAM-OPHOB-ISM” has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme grant agreement no. 785934. This research analyses the current political, social, and economic context of the European Union, which is confronted by two substantial crises, namely the global financial crisis and the refugee crisis. These crises have led to the escalation of fear and prejudice among the youth who are specifically vulnerable to discourses that culturalise and stigmatize the “other”. Young people between the ages of 18 to 30, whether native or immigrant-origin, have similar responses to globalization-rooted threats such as deindustrialization, isolation, denial, humiliation, precariousness, insecurity, and anomia. These responses tend to be essentialised in the face of current socio-economic, political and psychological disadvantages. While a number of indigenous young groups are shifting to right-wing populism, a number of Muslim youths are shifting towards Islamic radicalism. The common denominator of these groups is that they are both downwardly mobile and inclined towards radicalization. Hence, this project aims to scrutinize social, economic, political and psychological sources of the processes of radicalization among native European youth and Muslim-origin youth with migration background, who are both inclined to express their discontent through ethnicity, culture, religion, heritage, homogeneity, authenticity, past, gender and patriarchy.
[3] In the scope of the “ISLAM-OPHOB-ISM” project, Lalla Amina Drhimeur (2020a, 2020b) has provided an extensive literature review on the Moroccon-origin migrants in France, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. See https://bpy.bilgi.edu.tr/en/publications/state-art-moroccan-emigration-europe/