A Political History of Immigration in France: From Colonial to Global, and Back (Global French Histories)

This book is an enquiry into the making of a ‘country of immigration’ and how a demographic statistic can become such a controversial issue that occupies the top of the political agenda.Angéline Escafré-Dublet starts from the overlooked fact that even though France became a country of immigration as early as the mid-19th century, because of its lagging population growth, it was only in the late-20th century that French people started to think of themselves as living in a country of immigration.The book is about this change in identity and the ways in which the politics of migration - a much broader and globally connected process - came to redefine France in the second half of the 20th century. A Political History of Immigration in France is chronologically arranged in order to show the various stages the politics of immigration has been through: from a mere economic issue to a defining feature of contemporary politics.It draws on original research in the archives of the French administ