Case Study : France
France has always been a populous country, having a population of about 66.03 million, the third highest in the European Union (EU). Despite the slight decrease in population in the 20th Century, the population of France increased significantly with the baby boom following World War II. Then, France lacked labour needed to reconstruct the nation, and at the same time provide for its large population. Hence, the government was eager to recruit immigrants coming from all over Europe, Latin America and Africa to fill up the gaps in different work fields, be it low-skilled jobs like construction and services, or the higher-skilled ones like medical research and engineering. As of 2007, France has a high immigrant population of 8.3% (INED, n.d.) and a large racial diversity.
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To have the immigrants be willing to contribute actively to France, they must first feel included and develop a sense of belonging in the French society. France made clear efforts for this by practising assimilation currently and also once in the 20th Century. This assimilation policy does not require all immigrants to follow the French traditions, but having proofs of being capable of behaving like a French will allow immigrants to upgrade from a temporary permit to a long-term residence card (Zappi, 2003). It was perceived by the French government to be effective and bringing positive impacts, but eventually was abandoned once as the policy did not encourage immigrants to preserve their distinctive ethnic cultures from their different countries of origin. This would in turn make it more difficult for the immigrants to develop a sense of belonging to the country when they have to abandon their beliefs in order to migrate to the country.
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But ironically, France has not been very open to having immigrants coexist in its society. This is often recognized as the “French Paradox”. It is true that the government makes efforts to include the immigrants, but these efforts are futile when the French locals do not open up to immigrants and accept them being in the common French society. The French people take pride in their country and national identity. They do not allow their identity to be diluted, hence do not readily accept immigrants. A poll conducted by Harris Interactive states that 43% of French citizens believe that immigration has a negative impact on France’s economy (Scott, 2010). Also, approximately 70% of French citizens feel that there are “too many immigrants” in France (Buchanan, 2015). All these statistics show that the French citizens generally do not like immigrants to join their society, and that they have an unwelcoming mindset towards living together with the immigrants.
This unfriendly attitude can seen as the racism and discrimination that are evident in France. With rising tension from Islamist extremist activities and France’s relatively high level of involvement, the country has been rather cautious about immigrants, especially Muslim immigrants, and even French citizens who are Muslims. An example of this ostracization against religions would be that when France implemented the law that prohibits the donning of Muslim headscarves in 2010. But Catholics and Christians, believers of the predominant religions of France, are still allowed to wear their crosses in public (Gest, 2015).
Moreover, right-wing political leaders blame the immigrants for the increased crime rates. Former French president, Sarkozy, is a clear assimilationist in France who shamelessly supported Marine Le Pen, a right-wing political leader, claiming that there were “too many foreigners” in France, “raising the spectre of unsuspecting French people eating halal meat without knowing it” (Chrisafis, 2012). Studies have also shown that “a Muslim candidate is 2.5 times less likely to receive a job interview call back than is her matched Christian counterpart” (Adida et al., 2010). It is clearly seen that French citizens have different treatments for people of different cultural backgrounds, and immigrants who are of different nationalities, are the ones who are heavily ostracized. This causes mutual distrust, and give rise to problems such as social disputes.
Moreover, right-wing political leaders blame the immigrants for the increased crime rates. Former French president, Sarkozy, is a clear assimilationist in France who shamelessly supported Marine Le Pen, a right-wing political leader, claiming that there were “too many foreigners” in France, “raising the spectre of unsuspecting French people eating halal meat without knowing it” (Chrisafis, 2012). Studies have also shown that “a Muslim candidate is 2.5 times less likely to receive a job interview call back than is her matched Christian counterpart” (Adida et al., 2010). It is clearly seen that French citizens have different treatments for people of different cultural backgrounds, and immigrants who are of different nationalities, are the ones who are heavily ostracized. This causes mutual distrust, and give rise to problems such as social disputes.
As a result, there is clear ethnic and religious segregation. “Mini-Islamic states” coexist in France, consisting of 25% of the city’s population at Marseilles, France’s second-largest city (Scarborough, 2015). Under such circumstances, it is true that there will only be more security threats in the nation, between the locals and the immigrants. Social tension between immigrants and locals has been rising, and the social harmony is disrupted. Consequently, there are furious reactions and even armed confrontations between different social groups, especially between the Muslim immigrants and the locals. It is inevitable that immigrants may threaten France with terrorism and other crimes. |
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The Paris bombing and other series of attacks that happened in November 2015 can be clear examples of the danger that immigrants may bring when there are presence of idealists who would sought for their races’ identity in France. We can also see this clearly in the Charlie Hebdo shooting that happened in January 2015. These unfortunate incidents only prompt French citizens to go against the immigrant population and bring more racial segregation. |
Therefore in this case, the presence of immigrants is a downside for France. Instead of contributing positively and willingly, the immigrants become unhappy and unwilling to contribute to the society. They will not want to stay in France for a longer period of time, so they will not play a part in sustaining the economy. In fact, their presence causes more social conflicts due to the way French locals view immigrants.
Even if immigrants continue to stay and contribute to the economy, France’s unwelcoming attitude prevents them from maximizing their potential in their respective work fields. This is particularly seen in the skilled work field. Immigrants are perceived as people who compete with the locals for jobs. For the case of skilled immigrants, they are usually able to speak more than one language and they understand the foreign market more than a local. Therefore, immigrants help expand the businesses in France beyond the country, hence companies are looking for such skilled immigrants instead of locals. |
Yet because of the negative way that French citizens perceive immigrants as, the competition for jobs tends to be unfriendly. It even became one of the driving forces to the 2005 French riots that resulted in 3 deaths and many injuries. Jacques Chirac, France’s former president also accused that immigrants were earning more than natives and living off welfare benefits (Ho et. al). This shows that no matter what benefits the immigrants can bring, they are not appreciated and accepted by the French locals. Instead, the immigrants are thought of as competitors or even rivals, and economic burdens.
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Without appreciating the importance of immigrants’ contribution in the economy, how can France promote economic growth? Employment is an important channel that helps to strengthen France’s economy, but France has been suffering from the highest unemployment rates, especially among the foreign workforce. The rate of unemployment of immigrants from non-European countries is over 25% (Yanauchi, n.d.). Also, due to the high percentage of unemployed immigrants, the full potential of these immigrants in the workforce cannot be realised, and immigrants are unable to fully contribute to the society, and will be hence regarded as an economic burden rather than as benefitting the economy. As a result, there is a high demand for basic necessities, so the prices of products like oil, electricity and gas (RFI, 2014) increased, threatening France’s economy.
Contrary to what Jacques Chirac said, immigrants actually "contribute more in taxes and social insurance payments than they receive in individual benefits [in most OECD countries],’ OECD migration specialist Jonathan Chaloff told RFI.” (RFI, 2013). When the unemployment rate is so high, immigrants are unable to contribute to the economy as efficiently as before. These unemployed individuals will be under social welfare schemes and other provisions that puts a huge burden on France since its economy is already declining. The official statistics institute, INSEE also shows that that 8.7 million people are experiencing poverty, and most of them are temporary workers and the elderly (RFI, 2014). Without the contribution from the immigrants, it pulls down the productivity of the existing workforce, negatively impacting the economic growth in France.