GASPARD, Françoise

Y a-t-il un problème immigré en France? - Paris : IIAP, juil./sept. 1988

It is odd that immigration should be an issue of the 1980s since there has been very little of it for 10 years. France has never wanted to consider herself as open to permanent settlement and the authorities have long kept up the illusion that immigrant labourers are temporary guests who will return abroad. The 1974 immigration ban changes migration patters; new arrivals were family members and not labourers. GOvernment policy promoting reunification of immigrant families appeared as a standing refutation of any immigration ban or 'go home bonus'. Then followed general misunderstanding fo 1981 governmental change and of policy aimed at securing permanent status for illegal aliens and civic integration, all leading to xenophobic rabble-rousing, which in fact reflect French fears of impeding change in the next decade. Thus, immigrants both reveal and shoulder the profound crisis currently affecting French society