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Turks in France

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Turks in France
Regions with significant populations
Alsace  · Bordeaux  · Lille  · Lyon  · Lorraine  · Marseille  · Paris  · Strasbourg
Languages
Turkish  · French
Religion
Islam

Turks in France or French Turks (French: Turcs de France Turkish: Fransa Türkleri) are Turkish people who have immigrated to France. However, the term may also refer to French-born persons who have Turkish parents or who have a Turkish ancestral background. After Germany, France is the main destination country for Turks who emigrate.[7]

History

Early Ottoman migration

See also: Franco-Ottoman alliance

The first Turks settled in France during the sixteenth and seventeenth century as galley slaves and merchants from the Ottoman Empire;[8][9] the historian Ina Baghdiantz McCabe has described Marseille as a "Turkish town" during this time.[10] In Jean Marteilhe's autobiography, he stated that "…the Turks of Asia and Europe...of whom there are a great many in the galley of France, who have been made slaves by the Imperialists, and sold to the French to man their galleys… are generally well-made, fair in feature, wise in their conduct, zealous in the observance of their religion, honourable and charitable in the highest degree. I have seen them give away all the money they possessed to buy a bird in a cage that they might have the pleasure of giving it its liberty".[11]

Modern Turkish migration

France signed a bilateral labour recruitment agreement with Turkey on 8 May 1965[12] because the number of entrants from other countries such as Italy, Spain and Portugal was not sufficient.[13] However, in practice, France started to recruit Turkish labourers in the 1970s, until a decision was made to halt the recruitment on 3 July 1974.[13] By 1975 there was 55,710 Turkish workers living in France,[13] and by 1990 it had almost quadrupled to 198,000.[14] The majority of Turkish immigrants came from rural areas of Turkey, especially from central Anatolia.[15]

Demographics

See also: Demographics of France

The majority of Turks are mainly concentrated in eastern France.[16] There is a strong Turkish presence in Île-de-France (especially in Paris), Nord-Pas-de-Calais (mainly in the cities of Calais, Lille, and Roubaix), Rhône-Alpes (especially in Lyon), Alsace (mainly in Strasbourg) and Lorraine.[17][18] There is also a large community in Marseille.[19]

Population

According to the French census, in 1968 there was 8,000 Turks living in France, this had increased to 51,000 in 1975, 123,000 in 1982, 198,000 in 1990, and 208,000 in 1999.[20][17] However, the French census only collects information based on the country of birth; thus, this only identifies the number of Turkish immigrants, and does not include their descendants who are born in France and are recorded as "French" rather than "Turkish".[21] Furthermore, the Turkish population would be greater if naturalised citizens and illegal emigrants were also taken into account.[22]

By the early 2000s, academics had estimated that the Turkish population was between 450,000-500,000.[18][1] Immigration flows from Turkey are currently increasing faster than flows from Algeria and Morocco.[15] Thus, more recent estimates place the number of Turks between 500,000 to 600,000.[3] The "Fransa Diyanet İşleri Türk İslam Birliği" suggests that the actual Turkish population in France is about 1 million, including descendents.[5] A 2012 article by the Armenian Weekly has also stated that "there are also about a million French people of Turkish origin".[6]

Birth rates

Although the birth rates among Turks living in France has declined over the years they remain substantially higher than the French population. In 1982, the average number of children for Turks was 5.2, compared with 1.8 for the French population. By 1990, the average number of births for Turks was 3.7 compared to 1.7 for the French population.[23]

Culture

For the Turkish community in France, their national and ethnic identification is predominant within their culture.[24] The Turkish culture is preserved by maintaining their language, religion, and marrying others within their community. Emphasis is made on the importance of speaking Turkish within the family, especially whilst raising children.[25] There is also a strong link between language and their religion, Islam, for Turkish is used within mosques rather than French or Arabic.[26] Furthermore, getting married and having a family is a significant part of their Turkish identity. Those within the community tend to marry other Turks, and exogamous marriages are relatively few.[27]

Language

See also: Languages of France

In 2000, Akıncı and Jisa found that Turkish is spoken exclusively at home by 77% of families whilst 68% of children speak French to one another.[28] Turkish children are monolingual in the Turkish language until they start school at the age of 2 or 3; thus, they find themselves in everyday situations in which they have to speak French with their peers.[29] By the age of 10, most children become dominant in the French language.[30] Nonetheless, even for those who use French more than Turkish in their daily lives, numerous studies have shown that they still emphasize the importance of Turkish as the language of the family, particularly for raising children.[25] Thus, there is a high degree of language maintenance in the Turkish community; frequent holidays to Turkey, the easy access and use of Turkish media, and the density of social networks help maintain their language.[27]

A Turkish mosque in Nantes.

Religion

See also: Religion in France and Islam in France

The majority of Turks adhere to Islam and focus on creating their own mosques and schools, most of which are tightly linked to Turkey. Thus, Turks worship their religion mainly with others within their community.[31] Due to Turkish immigrants having a strong link to the Turkish state and much less knowledge of the French language, compared to other Muslim immigrants who have emigrated from French-speaking countries, Turks tend to build their own Turkish mosques and sermons are given in Turkish rather than French or Arabic.[26]

The Turkish-Islamic Union for Religious Affairs (DİTİB), which is a branch of the Turkish state Bureau of Religious Affairs (the Diyanet),[26] promotes a "Turkish Islam" which is based upon a moderate, rational Islam of a secular state.[32] The Diyanet has organic links to the "Coordination Committee of Muslim Turks in France", or CCMTF, (French: Comité de coordination des musulmans turcs de France)[33] which brings under its umbrella a total of 210 mosques.[34] Its major competing network of Turkish mosques is run by the Millî Görüş movement (French: Communauté Islamique du Milli Görüş de France) which emphasizes the importance of solidarity of the community over integration into French society.[26] The Millî Görüş has an estimated 70 Turkish mosques in France.[26][34]

Marriages

There are relatively few marriages outside of the Turkish community,[27] prospective spouses are generally looked for in Turkey rather than the immigrant community; a French survey in 1997 found that 98% of females and 92% of males within the immigrant community married someone from Turkey.[27]

Integration

A Turkish kebab shop in Paris.

The Turkish community is considered to be the least integrated immigrant community in France,[17] largely due to their strong attachment to their country of origin.[35] However, there is increasing recognition by Turkish officials that without successful integration the immigrant community cannot lobby for the home country.[35] For example, in 2010, the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stressed that assimilation is different from integration and urged the Turkish community in France to integrate by applying for French citizenship.[36]

Naturalisation

See also: French nationality law
Naturalisation of Turkish citizens:[37]
Year 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Persons 7,494 7,158 11,380 12,137 10,755 10,468 10,492 13,644 13,618 11,629

Discrimination

Discrimination against Turks in French society is seen particularly within the labour market when they are looking for jobs. Given a choice between a Turkish and a French with the same qualifications, French employers tend not to choose the immigrant applicant.[38][39]

Organisations and associations

  • Comité de coordination des musulmans turcs de France, the coordination committee for Turkish Muslims in France is linked to Turkey.[40]
  • "Fransa Türk Federasyonu", the French Turks Federation.[41]
  • "Migrations et cultures de Turquie" (ELELE), promote knowledge of Turkish immigration and helps to assist the integration of Turkish migrants into French society.[42]
  • "Le Groupement des Entrepreneurs Franco-Turcs" (FATIAD), the leading business association created by Turks living in France.[43]
  • Réseau Pro'Actif, A professional network created by second and third generations of Turks in France. It gathers graduates of the country's leading universities.

Media

Radio France International (RFI) has been broadcasting in Turkish since 1971. RFI programming in Turkish had become a steady factor since 1971, when broadcasts in Turkish were aimed at Turkish immigrants to France who did not yet speak French. The Turkish programming provided Turkish immigrants with news about social and cultural events, as well as information on daily life in France. Following the announcement of the end to RFI's Turkish programming, some labor union representative said that they saw RFI's decision as "reprisal" against Turkey.[44]

Notable people

See also: List of French Turks

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Hunter 2002, 6.
  2. ^ Grand National Assembly of Turkey (2009). "İnsan Haklarını İnceleme Komisyonu:Fransa Raporu" (PDF). Grand National Assembly of Turkey. p. 3.
  3. ^ a b Todays Zaman. "France and its world famous capital 'Paris'". Retrieved 2011-05-01.
  4. ^ http://www2.dha.com.tr/haberdetay.asp?Newsid=217705
  5. ^ a b Fransa Diyanet İşleri Türk İslam Birliği. "2011 YILI DİTİB KADIN KOLLARI GENEL TOPLANTISI PARİS DİTİB'DE YAPILDI". Retrieved 2012-02-15.
  6. ^ a b Armenian Weekly. "An Interview with Garo Yalic, Advisor to Valerie Boyer". Retrieved 2012-02-15.
  7. ^ LeSaout & Kadri 2002, 86.
  8. ^ Morrison & Gardiner 1995, 190.
  9. ^ Takeda 2011, 98.
  10. ^ McCabe 2008, 18.
  11. ^ Marteilhe 1867, 146.
  12. ^ Akgündüz 2002, 61.
  13. ^ a b c Akgündüz 2002, 101.
  14. ^ Al-Shahi & Lawless 2005, 13.
  15. ^ a b Milewski & Hamel 2010, 618.
  16. ^ LeSaout & Kadri 2002, 87.
  17. ^ a b c Hargreaves 2007, 73.
  18. ^ a b Nielsen, Akgonul & Alibasic 2009, 129.
  19. ^ Bowen 2008, 147.
  20. ^ Rollan & Sourou 2006, 38.
  21. ^ Milewski & Hamel 2010, 631.
  22. ^ Fadlouallah 1994, 32.
  23. ^ Al-Shahi & Lawless 2005, 27.
  24. ^ Kastoryano 2002, 90.
  25. ^ a b Backus 2008, 695.
  26. ^ a b c d e Bowen 2009, 60.
  27. ^ a b c d Backus 2008, 694.
  28. ^ Akıncı & Jisa 2000, 318.
  29. ^ Crul 2011, 275.
  30. ^ Akıncı, Jisa & Kern 2001, 190.
  31. ^ Bowen 2009, 11.
  32. ^ Çitak 2010, 625.
  33. ^ Çitak 2010, 620.
  34. ^ a b Çitak 2010, 626.
  35. ^ a b Çitak 2010, 627.
  36. ^ Todays Zaman. "Erdoğan urges Turks in France to integrate, not assimilate". Retrieved 2011-05-31.
  37. ^ Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 2008, 358.
  38. ^ Crul 2007, 220.
  39. ^ Peignard 2006, 8.
  40. ^ Ministère des affaires étrangères et européennes. "The Muslim faith in France" (PDF). Retrieved 2009-01-23.
  41. ^ Fransa Türk Federasyonu. "Ana Sayfa". Retrieved 2009-01-23.
  42. ^ GEMMA. "GENDER & MIGRATION in FRANCE: "a brief overview"" (PDF). Retrieved 2009-01-23.
  43. ^ Groupement des Entrepreneurs Franco-Turcs. "Accueil". Retrieved 2011-05-26.
  44. ^ Turks.US Daily News. "French radio RFI cuts Turkish broadcasts". Retrieved 2009-01-23.

Bibliography

  • Akgönül, Samim (2009), "Turks of France: Religion, Identity and Europeanness", in Küçükcan, Talip; Güngör, Veyis (eds.) (eds.), Turks in Europe: Culture, Identity, Integration (PDF), Turkevi Research Centre, ISBN 9077814132 {{citation}}: |editor2-first= has generic name (help).
  • Akgündüz, Ahmet (2008), Labour migration from Turkey to Western Europe, 1960-1974: A multidisciplinary analysis, Ashgate Publishing, ISBN 0754673901 {{citation}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Akıncı, Mehmet-Ali; Jisa, Harriet (2000), "Development of Turkish clause linkage in the narrative texts of Turkish-French bilingual children in France", in Göksel, Aslı; Kerslake, Celia (eds.) (eds.), Studies on Turkish and Turkic languages, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, ISBN 3447042931 {{citation}}: |editor2-first= has generic name (help)
  • Akıncı, Mehmet-Ali; Jisa, Harriet; Kern, Sophie (2001), "Influence of L1 Turkish on L2 French narratives", in Strömqvist, Sven (ed) (ed.), Narrative development in a multilingual context, John Benjamins Publishing, ISBN 9027241341 {{citation}}: |editor-first= has generic name (help)
  • Al-Shahi, Ahmed; Lawless, Richard I. (2005), Middle East and North African immigrants in Europe, Routledge, ISBN 0415348307 {{citation}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Backus, Ad (2008), "Turkish as an Immigrant Language in Europe", in Bhatia, Tej K.(ed) (ed.), The Handbook of Bilingualism, Wiley-Blackwell, ISBN 0631227350 {{citation}}: |editor-first= has generic name (help).
  • Bowen, John Richard (2008), Why the French Don't Like Headscarves: Islam, the State, and Public Space, Princeton University Press, ISBN 0691138397 {{citation}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Bowen, John Richard (2009), Can Islam be French?: pluralism and pragmatism in a secularist state, Princeton University Press, ISBN 0691132836 {{citation}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Çitak, Zana (2010), "Between 'Turkish Islam' and 'French Islam': The Role of the Diyanet in the Conseil Français du Culte Musulman", Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 36 (4), Routledge: 619–634
  • Crul, Maurice (2007), "The Integration of Immigrant Youth", in Suárez-Orozco, Marcelo M. (ed.) (ed.), Learning in the global era: international perspectives on globalization and education, University of California Press, ISBN 0520254368 {{citation}}: |editor-first= has generic name (help)
  • Crul, Maurice (2011), "How Do Educational Systems Integrate? Integration of Second-Generation Turks in Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Austria", in Alba, Richard; Waters, Mary C. (eds.) (eds.), The Next Generation: Immigrant Youth in a Comparative Perspective, NYU Press, ISBN 0814707432 {{citation}}: |editor2-first= has generic name (help)
  • Fadlouallah, Abdellatif (1994), "Migration flows from the South to western countries", in De Azevedo, Raimondo Cagiano (ed) (ed.), Migration and Development Co-operation, Council of Europe, ISBN 9287126119 {{citation}}: |editor-first= has generic name (help).
  • Hargreaves, Alec G. (2007), Multi-ethnic France: immigration, politics, culture and society, Taylor & Francis, ISBN 0415397820 {{citation}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Hunter, Shireen (2002), Islam, Europe's second religion: the new social, cultural, and political landscape, Greenwood Publishing Group, ISBN 0275976092 {{citation}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Kastoryano, Riva (2002), Negotiating identities: states and immigrants in France and Germany, Princeton University Press, ISBN 0691010153 {{citation}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Kirszbaum, Thomas; Brinbaum, Yaël; Simon, Patrick; Gezer, Esin (2009), "The Children of Immigrants in France: The Emergence of a Second Generation" (PDF), Innocenti Working Paper 2009-13, UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, ISBN 1014-7837 {{citation}}: Check |isbn= value: length (help)
  • LeSaout, Didier; Kadri, Aïssa (2002), "Immigration policies and education in France", in Pitkänen, Pirkko; Kalekin-Fishman, Devorah; Verma, Gajendra K. (eds.) (eds.), Education and immigration: settlement policies and current challenges, Routledge, ISBN 041527821X {{citation}}: |editor3-first= has generic name (help)
  • Marteilhe, Jean (1867), The Huguenot galley-slave: being the autobiography of a French Protestant condemned to the galleys for the sake of his religion, Leypoldt & Holt.
  • McCabe, Ina Baghdiantz (2008), Orientalism in early modern France: Eurasian trade, exoticism, and the Ancien Régime, Berg, ISBN 1845203747 {{citation}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Milewski, Nadja; Hamel, Christelle (2010), "Union Formation and Partner Choice in a Transnational Context: The Case of Descendants of Turkish Immigrants in France", International Migration Review, 44 (3), Center for Migration Studies of New York: 615–658
  • Morrison, John; Gardiner, Robert (1995), The Age of the Galley: Mediterranean oared vessels since pre-classical times, Conway, ISBN 0851779557 {{citation}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Nielsen, Jørgen S.; Akgonul, Samim; Alibasic, Ahmet (2009), Yearbook of Muslims in Europe, BRILL, ISBN 9004175059 {{citation}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2008), International Migration Outlook: SOPEMI 2008, OECD Publishing, ISBN 9264045651 {{citation}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Peignard, Emmanuel (2006), "Immigration in France", in Lynch, Jean B.(ed.) (ed.), France in Focus: Immigration Policies, Foreign Policy, and U.S. Relations, Nova Publishers, ISBN 1594549354 {{citation}}: |editor-first= has generic name (help)
  • Rollan, Françoise; Sourou, Benoît (2006), Les migrants turcs de France: entre repli et ouverture, Maison des Sciences de l'Homme d'Aquitaine, ISBN 2858923302 {{citation}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Takeda, Junko Thérèse (2011), Between Crown and Commerce: Marseille and the Early Modern Mediterranean, JHU Press, ISBN 0801899826 {{citation}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)

Further reading

  • Böcker, A. (1996), “Refugee and Asylum-Seeking Migration from Turkey to Europe” Boðaziçi Journal Vol. 10, Nos. 1-2.
  • Cahiers d'Etudes sur la Mediterranée orientale et le Monde Turco-iranien (1992), special issue on Turkish immigration in Germany and France, Paris: Centre d'Etude des Relations internationales, n°13.
  • Cahiers d'Etudes sur la Mediterranée orientale et le Monde Turco-iranien (1996), special issue on Turkish migrant women in Europe, Paris: Centre d'Etude des Relations internationales, n°21.
  • Les Annales de l'Autre Islam (1995), special issue on Turkish diaspora in the World, Paris: Institut national des Langues et des Civilisations orientales, n°3.

External links

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