Abstract
Although the era of Palestinian migration to France is relatively recent, and began in the 1970s, Palestinians have significantly integrated into French society. The social, economic, and political situations in their homeland have played an essential role in Palestinian migration from that homeland or, in some cases, from the refugee camps of Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon. Palestinian migrants/refugees have integrated into French society despite their economic classes or categories. As this paper analyses, students and businessmen were the types of Palestinian migrants with the highest level of integration in French society. They are the two main categories making up the Palestinian community in France. Marriage also plays a significant role as a crucial integration mechanism for both women and men. Despite the fact that the French Jacobin system obliges all migrants/refugees to assimilate into French society, this has not affected the understanding of original Palestinian identity. These migrants/refugees still introduce themselves as Palestinians.
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Notes
According to Shiblak (2005), there were about 191,000 Palestinians in Europe: 80,000 in Germany, 50,000 in Scandinavian countries, 20,000 in Britain, 12,000 in Spain, 5,000 in France, 4,000 in Greece, and 20,000 in other countries. There are no published statistics on the characteristics of Palestinian migrants in France in terms of gender, age, qualifications, etc.
This paper was made possible (in part) thorough (short-term) support of a post-doctoral student at Angers University, France, during the summer of 2018, with funding from Consulat Général de France à Jérusalem.
Ethnic community is used without precision in the social sciences. It may be applied to any social entity from the rural “enclave” to the nation state as a whole. Lenski (1970: 41) distinguished between “geographical communities” and “cultural communities.” The former are “united primarily by ties of special proximity and the latter by “ties of a common cultural tradition.” Ethnic communities are united by the ties of the specific ethnic heritage of an immigrant group.
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This work was supported by “La service de cooperation et d’action culturelle du Consulat Général de France a Jersalem” in 2018.
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Fawadleh, H. Palestinians in France: Integration Versus Community Integration. Int. Migration & Integration 23, 1495–1514 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12134-021-00895-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12134-021-00895-1