Virginie Guiraudon (CERAPS, University of Lille) Camille Schmoll (G

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Virginie Guiraudon (CERAPS, University of
Lille)Camille Schmoll (Géographie-cités,
University of Paris 7)

• Moroccan immigration in France
• do migration policy matters?

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Organization of the paper

1. The history of Moroccan immigration to France and
   the current context
2. French immigration and integration policies
3. The pilot study little interaction between
   migrant aspirations and policy goals

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France is...

• Both an old and new immigration country for
  Moroccans
• The first residence country for Moroccan
  immigrants in Europe

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The history of Moroccan immigration to France and
the current context

• Importance of dual nationals
• Diversity of modes of entry and residence permit
• Moroccans are mainly concentrated in the Paris
  metropolitan area
• A number of illegalised immigrants
• The current situation of immigrants in France
  socio-economic difficulties including high
  unemployment and increasing segregation in
  housing and education

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Diversity of the Moroccan immigrant population

• War veterans
• Students
• Retired industrial workers Chibanis
• Agricultural seasonal workers
• Urban elite
• Jewish diaspora
• Feminization of migration and increase of single
  women migration
• Entrepreneurs and circular migrants

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French immigration and integration policies

• 1973 France stops recruiting foreign workers.
  Immigration policy is twofold
• strict immigration controls
• integration of legal migrants
• Immigration policies
• The restriction of entries and the sans
  papiers issue
• Importance of family migration and family reunion
• Integration policies
• Reinvention of the French model of integration
  through integration policies
• Citizenship access to citizenship is still
  relatively open compared to other European
  countries but it is being constantly limited

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The pilot study

• Interviews with 3 Moroccan migrants and 2 French
  policy makers (2006-2007)
• The results of the pilot study suggest that
  French policies had no impact on the choice of
  destination of the Moroccan migrants interviewed

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a)    Which nodal points (if any) they have
identified in their case studies of no nodal
points appear to be relevant please comment (the
notion is not useful or...?)

• Policy-makers tend to believe, not only that
  policy matters but also, that strict policies can
  act as a deterrent
• Our study of Moroccans in France suggests that
  they did not choose France as a destination
  country based on knowledge of French policies but
  rather through kin relations and with an
  erroneous and very vague knowledge of French
  society

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• There is little interaction between migrant
  aspirations and policy goals, in the sense that
  French policies had no impact on the choice of
  destination of the Moroccan migrants interviewed
• What is relevant instead is the way policies are
  implemented highly skilled immigrants for
  instance tend to choose North America as a
  destination because in France they feel
  discriminated and stigmatized by civil servants
  and by the society as a whole

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• Moreover, it is likely that French policies have
  an impact on
• ? the way immigrants choose to leave
• ? immigrants integration in the host society

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b) what ignored nodal points are relevant in
their case study comment shortly

• Further investigation should focus on key moments
  within the migration process and the diversity of
  Moroccan immigrant population

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c)  what kind of information did they
specifically use and/or what kind of information
did they specifically miss and why

• Immigrants seem to lack information on
  immigration policies (or maybe they deliberately
  choose to ignore it?)
• Little role of NGOs before leaving the country
• Role of the media in the home country in
  providing information increase awareness of
  danger and discrimination and racism

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d)  what is the role of professional networks
(smugglers and others) in irregular/regular
migration

• Interviews provided no information on smuggling
  networks
• Role of the French consulates and issue of
   illegalised immigrants 

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e)  what is the role of informal networks
(kinship, ethnic networks, others)

• Immigration relevance of kinship and ethnic
  networks
• Integration mobilization through NGOs and Trade
  unions. Role of schools and workplaces as
  mobilization sites.
• The role of rumour between co-ethnics could be
  also investigated

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f) Please provide for a migrant typology for your
case study

• A typology of migrants practices and autonomy
  towards the legal frames that could be used for
  future research
• Positive use of the legal rule to make profit
  from two national legal frameworks (for instance
  through circulation through resources provided
  by RME policy)
• Bypass migrants bypass a legal rule by using
  another legal rule
• Mobilization migrants protest against the legal
  rule
• Illegality migrants appeal to smugglers and find
  jobs in the black market
• Discouragement migrants return or migrants do
  not emigrate, migrants decide to use France as a
  transit destination
• Failure of the migratory project migrants are
  forced to return, die or wound themselves during
  the trip

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g) What is the relevance of the local/regional
context for the enforcement/implementation of
migration and migrant policies

• Strong relevance. Actors are
• ? Mayors (and local civil servants)
• ? Prefectures
• ? Consulates
• ? Administrative court
• Role of local ethnic networks for integration (in
  particular as regards housing and labor market
  integration)

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• In 2006 and 2007, targets for the removal of
  foreigners from France were set at 25,000, and
  though the target has not quite been met, there
  is pressure on the prefects, the police,
  gendarmerie and border guards (Police de lair et
  des frontières) to find undocumented persons that
  could be deported.
• We need to know more about the local
  implementation of policies (by interviewing civil
  servants for instance)

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h) What are the effects of enforcement on
migrants (do they change their plans or do they
simply change their strategy to achieve the
initial plan?)

• They change their strategies
• Example 1 the increasing role of marriage in
  migration strategies
• ? Impact on the structuration of the family and
  gender relations
• Example 2 the role of political mobilization.
  Network called RESF (Schooling Without Borders)
  seeks to prevent immigrants expulsion (Led by
  parents, teachers and NGOs)

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Research directions

• The impact of the immigrant specific situation
  (gender, generation, legal status, specific
  social and economic resources) on its plans and
  trajectories needs further investigation.

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• Such an investigation could be useful for
  cross-comparison between national case studies.
• This could help us to understand the impact of
  different scales of governance, such as the
  European and the Local/urban scale.

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• We need also to know more about the legal
  framework in the country of origin and its
  impacts on migrants strategies