France: Still the One and Indivisible Republic?

Shares with UK

Questions of citizenship, immigration, asylum are products of:

1) post-war labour shortages, labour migration

2) effects of post-colonialism

esp. Algeria and other parts of N Africa, i.e, the “Maghreb” (Morocco, Tunisia, and more)

Different from the UK in model, history, responses

The French Model of Citizenship: The Republican Ideal

Origins in the Revolution

Universalism – Rights of Man

Unitarism – le republique une et indivisibile

Separation of church and state (laicite)

These 3 together lead to predominant stance of

1) civic nationalism

a. just soli

b. liberal naturalization procedure

2) Assimilation as the goal

Burden on individual AND state institutions esp. schools

3) lack of recognition for groups

forbade political associations til recently

complicated by 1939 banning groups based on ethnic identities to protect against Nazism/Fascism

Contemporary Trends

Economic changes

Demographic changes

Welfare state strains

**Political competition between left and right, esp. the rise of the Front National (FN)

Tightening of policies regarding jus soli and naturalization

“volunatary declarations” at age of majority

longer waiting pd. After marriage

Recognition of groups’ right to association, organization legitimated to mediate with state (e.g. council of immigrant association in France CAIF, 69)

Recognized state failures in integration

Other:

French Islam? (71)

Not Islam in France

Hasan argument on cultural amplifications

Effects of European Integration

Helpful at times to push decision making to EU level to avoid political fallout at domestic level

France original Schengen signatory

For a border free Europe

Complications with terrorism (before 9/11) and drugs (the Netherlands)

Overall, Geddes argues that subnational and national levels most influence the French case

Link to Story on Recent Tightening of Immigration/Migration