Migration, Integration and Citizenship in France between 1990 and 2018: The State of the Art

This paper, written by Dr. Ayşe Tecmen, reviews the major political, social and cultural developments in France that are related to migration and integration. It covers significant developments such as elections, new discourses, including the rise of populism and radicalisation. In doing so, it discusses immigration laws as well as migration and integration policies in France while stressing the case of Muslim-origin migrants and their descendants. However, this particular study does not focus on the influence and reception of migration and integration policies on the migrant population. Thus, it avoids making a sociological evaluation in order to refrain from reproducing stereotypes based on culture, religion, and ethnicity. In fact, this review focuses on the changing migration and integration policies which have also contributed to the structural discrimination of migrants. In addition, Muslim-origin migrants have also been scapegoated by the rising populist discourse in France and Europe, which has revived the political and public debates on ethnic diversity, and the recognition of Muslim-origin migrants. This paper derives from the ongoing EU-funded research for the “PRIME Youth” project conducted under my supervision and funded by the European Research Council with the Agreement Number 785934