161. Immigration the Salience of Racial Boundaries Among French Workers
- Author:
- Michèle Lamont
- Publication Date:
- 03-2001
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- French Politics, Culture Society
- Institution:
- Conference Group on French Politics Society
- Abstract:
- This essay revisits the question of French racism by examining the differing status of North African immigrants and blacks as victims of French racism. I draw on in-depth interviews with French workers and on national surveys to show that French workers draw stronger boundaries toward immigrants—and more specifically North African immigrants—than toward blacks. I advance an explanation for the lower salience of this latter group that takes into consideration the cultural resources that workers have access to and to the structural and historical context in which they live. In particular, I suggest that because it is based on assimilation, the French political culture of Republicanism provides special ammunition for arguments against North Africans: It presumes (and aims to achieve) a national community with overlapping cultural and political boundaries, such that all members of the national community share the same political culture, which de facto distinguishes the national in-group from out-groups. At the same time, this widely available ideology weakens the boundaries drawn against blacks by affirming the principle of color blindness and the irrelevance of ascribed characteristics in the French polity.
- Topic:
- Immigration
- Political Geography:
- North Africa