African immigration to France

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This article addresses immigrants to France from Africa. For French language spoken in Africa, please see African French.
African immigrants to France
Albert Camus2.jpgPatrick Vieira.jpg
UMP meeting Paris regional elections 2010-03-17 n11.jpgZidane 2008.jpg
Albert Camus, Patrick Vieira, Rama Yade, Zinedine Zidane
Total population
About 5 million. 2,271,231 African-born as of 2008.
Regions with significant populations
Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse, Bordeaux, Lille, Nantes, Strasbourg, Overseas departments and territories of France
Languages

Common French with various native languages such as African languages.
Religion

Islam, Christianity, irreligious

African immigrants to France include French citizens and residents born in, or with ancestors from Africa.

Contents

Population statistics [edit]

The French national institute of statistics INSEE estimated that 5,3 million foreign-born immigrants and 6,5 million direct descendants of immigrants (born in France with at least one immigrant parent) lived in France representing a total of 11.8 million and 19% of the total population. From the 11.8 million people, around 5 million were African immigrants.[1][2]

Immigration Flows [edit]

With 42.9% (90,582) of all immigrants in 2008, people from Africa are the largest regional immigration group in France. These statistics include 26.6% from Maghreb.[3]

By Country [edit]

Selected countries:[4]

Country % of all
immigrants
2008		 % of all
immigrants
2007		 % of all
immigrants
2006		 % of all
immigrants
2005		 % of all
immigrants
2004
Algeria 11.2% 12.0% 14.1% 14.0% 15.2%
Cameroon 1.9% 1.9% 2.1% 2.1% 2.0%
Côte d'Ivoire 1.5% 1.6% 1.8% 1.7% 1.9%
Mali 2.1% 1.3% 1.4% 1.2% 1.2%
Morocco 11.1% 9.5% 9.4% 10.4% 11.4%
Senegal 1.7% 1.8% 1.7% 1.7% 1.9%
Tunisia 4.3% 4.4% 4.5% 4.5% 4.7%

Current immigrant population by country of birth [edit]

Immigrants by origin (2008) % N
Africa 42.5 2 271 231
Algeria 13.4 2 n hi ppl
Morocco 12.2 653 826
Tunisia 4.4 234 669
Other countries of Africa 12.5 669 401

[2]

Challenges to Immigration [edit]

The Arab Spring’s Impact on African Immigration to France [edit]

Conservative parties like President Sarkozy’s center-right Union pour un Mouvement Populaire and the extreme-right Front National have never quite been immigration-friendly, as such direct foreign influence threatens their ability to maintain a wholly French culture. Traditional French political discourse, dating back to its roots in colonialism, indicates that immigrants are welcome in the country, so long as they assimilate fully into French society by taking such measures as speaking, dressing, and acting French. The rise of immigration into France as a result of the Arab Spring has prompted a significant amount of controversy in French politics as these conservative parties have intensified their anti-immigration stances, seen particularly in parties Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (UMP) and Front National.

Immigration has shifted France’s political discourse to the right and placing immigration at the forefront of many political discussions. France’s stance on immigration and citizenship throughout history has remained largely the same: people of all backgrounds are welcome to live in the country, as long as they respect and adapt to French culture. This dates back to the French method of colonization in the nineteenth and early to mid twentieth centuries: a system of direct rule, in which they essentially restructured the entire colony to function in a manner similar to that of France itself. This approach to citizenship transferred over to immigration, where the majority of French people found no problem with persons of different racial, cultural, and socioeconomic backgrounds immigrating to their country. In recent years France has grown less and less tolerant of immigrants, which comes as a result of a decline in the willingness of foreigners to adjust to French cultural and societal norms. It is for precisely this reason that the huge rise in immigration from North Africa after the Arab Spring revolutions is causing such a stir in France.

Front National official and former National Assembly deputy stated:

“If I were to elaborate on the loss of identity, it’s the primary problem; it’s the immigration problem, which isn’t at all like the immigration before or after the Second World War. That was an immigration of people who came to France, generally from other European countries, thus possessing the same civilization with the desire to become French citizens. And now it’s an immigration from the third world, thus coming from different civilizations to settle in France but living with their own culture and their own customs, thereby creating communities which are antagonistic to the French community and thus destroying our national identity and placing the future of our country at risk.[5] "

Associate Professor Elizabeth Shakman Hurd declares Islam represents the “non-secular” more than any other religion in European and American discourse.[6] ” As Islam is viewed by most of the West to be the most extreme religion in regards to the difficulty of separating it from politics, this sheds some light on why it is not well-received in a country where “the mixing of religion and politics is regarded as necessarily abnormal, irrational, dangerous, and extremist.[7] ” Rogers Brubaker expands on Hurd’s point by providing a rationale for the “alleged unassimilable status of today’s immigrants, especially North African Muslims.[8] ” The attempt of North African Muslims in France to strike a balance between maintaining their religion while also integrating into French secular society has caused a great deal of tension on both sides. Today’s immigrants are more “culturally distant” from France than they were before, rendering them less likely to successfully assimilate to French society.[9]

In an interview on politics in North Africa post-Arab Spring, Jeannette Bougrab, the French Secretary for Youth and Community Life and member of the UMP party, candidly expressed her concern over the possibility of Islamist parties taking over leadership in Morocco, Tunisia, and Egypt, stating, “I know of no moderate Islam…There is no Sharia ‘light.[10] '” She encourages these countries to implement a system of democracy separate from Islamic law, asserting that long in coming, every day of delay will increase the threat of radicalization, co-option by extremist forces, and infringement of the freedom of religion and belief.[11] ”

The Arab Spring has invigorated this longstanding perception of “us” versus “them” with the influx of Muslim immigrants, causing many citizens to question what it means to be French and fueled the desire to return to that idea of original “Frenchness.” Although the opposition to immigration is nothing new in France, the Arab Spring has created a new initiative to curb legal immigration as well as illegal immigration. The massive number of foreigners entering France illegally in such a short period of time made the issue a very visible one. For a number of politicians, this mass immigration was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back, as they saw this as being too invasive. Many citizens in France feel that their culture is being hijacked by immigrants who do not share the same system of values and respect for their policy of laïcité. As the bulk of immigration resulting from the Arab Spring has been Tunisians entering France via Italy, many politicians, including President Sarkozy are calling for the Schengen Agreement to be reformed.

For France, the aftermath of the Arab Spring sparked intense debate on immigration, national identity, and discrimination. Many French politicians have since called for a more closed-border approach to immigration, seeking to drastically reduce the number of legal and illegal immigrants in the country in order to preserve French national identity. In recent months, as conservative rhetoric has become increasingly more concerned with immigration and its perceived adverse effects on France’s national identity, the UMP and Front National parties have experienced a surge in popularity. It appears as though conservative politicians have been successful in reconceptualizing immigration as a problem that needs to be solved before France’s national identity disappears entirely. Though DeClair predicts that with the continued growth of Islam, France will be forced to “redefine itself and its commitment to secularism,” it seems as if the French public has already done so, and they chose to maintain their tradition of secularism by making strides to curb immigration and the influence of Islam in the country.[12]. As the political discourse in France moves to the right, it is becoming clear that despite the changes brought on by globalization, France will do whatever it takes to preserve their national identity and refrain from ever turning into a multicultural society.

Notable people [edit]

In literature [edit]

In politics [edit]

In sport [edit]

See also [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ Être né en France d’un parent immigré, Insee Première, n°1287, mars 2010, Catherine Borrel et Bertrand Lhommeau, Insee
  2. ^ a b Répartition des immigrés par pays de naissance 2008, Insee, October 2011
  3. ^ Statistiques détaillées sur les flux d'immigration, Ined, 2011
  4. ^ INED
  5. ^ DeClair, Edward (1999). Politics on the fringe: the people, policies, and organization of the French National Front. London: Duke University Press. p. 126. 
  6. ^ Hurd, Elizabeth Shakman (2008). The politics of secularism in international relations. Princeton: Princeton University Press. p. 7. 
  7. ^ Hurd, Elizabeth Shakman (2008). The politics of secularism in international relations. Princeton: Princeton University Press. p. 26. 
  8. ^ Brubaker, Rogers (1992). Citizenship and nationhood in France and Germany. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. p. 148. 
  9. ^ Brubaker, Rogers (1992). Citizenship and nationhood in France and Germany. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. p. 148. 
  10. ^ "Printemps Arabes: Jeannette Bougrab Fustige La Poussée Des Islamistes". LeMonde.fr. 
  11. ^ "The Arab Spring: A Conversation with Alain Juppé". Council on Foreign Relations. 
  12. ^ DeClair, Edward (1999). Politics on the fringe: the people, policies, and organization of the French National Front. London: Duke University Press. p. 206. 
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