Immigrants as political actors in France

Abstract

Immigrants have participated in politics in France in diverse ways, depending upon when they came to France, for what purpose, and where they were born. In addition, different roles have emerged in different periods, with some now fading and others reinforced by new generations of political actors. Different kinds of sociopolitical demands and policies are characteristic of different generations of immigrants. What is most striking since the mid‐1980s is that terms of the political dialogue on immigration have changed, in part because of the initiatives of government and opposition, but also because of the initiatives of immigrants and immigrant associations themselves. Since 1985 the broad socio‐political debate in France has focused on such questions as definitions of French identity and dual citizenship, as result of the political demands of the second generation of Franco‐Maghrebians. However, after a brief ‘passage au politique’ at the national level, this generation has now focused its activity on local associations, with a stronger emphasis on civil rights.