Integrating into a new life anywhere is an arduous journey—especially when the culture is vastly different—which at times would make one feel more like an interloper than a ‘foreigner’; when this outsider comes from a relatively less advanced country, even the most ubiquitous of facilities seem like privileges. Whilst there are a multitude of motives to move to France, there are a number of reasons why people might reconsider their decision to do so, and language barrier happens to be the simplest of them—or maybe not.
Coming to France: A Choice?
My experience while living in France as a student at Sciences Po has allowed me to engage in conversations with five of them – Tamar, a 19 year old undergraduate at Sciences Po, from Georgia; Adrian, a 21 year old exchange student at Sciences Po, in his final year of graduation, from Germany; Xhann, a 31 year old PhD student at l'École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts from Egypt; Narjis, a 56 year old chef, from Iraq; and Shromona, a 20 year old exchange student at Sciences Po, from India.
“I saw death when I was young. I saw people losing their houses to strongmen from Russia, and that changed the course of my life completely, and that’s the case with my whole generation,” said Tamar, who grew up in Tbilisi. “We feel a personal sense of unfairness and that is the reason why I’m here”. Having lived in London for three years before arriving at Reims, she remarks at the misconceptions people tend to have with respect to her position as a European. “As I am from Eastern Europe, people often overlook the differences between the West and the East. The economy, the politics, the education, it’s all much more advanced here. They think I am as lucky as everyone here, but I wouldn’t have been able to come if not for the scholarship”, she said.
Adrian, who has been a life-long resident of Berlin, on the other hand, lamented the lack of options for vegans in Reims. “Berlin can be labelled as the vegan capital of Europe! I had a vegan-only market just 2 minutes away from my home. Maybe in Paris it’s different, but here it’s quite limited.”, Adrian pointed out, while also mentioning the inferior quality of water here. On the contrary, Shromona smiled wryly, pointing out “potable water isn’t even available on tap in India. You need purifiers to have access to clean water”.
In 2018-19 over 120,000 people applied for long-term visas in France. While the French government has always been pro-inclusivity and has made France an attractive place for foreigners, the social cracks have become very visible through the lives and interactions of these foreigners with the locals. There has been a growing housing crisis in Paris and the larger cities in France, especially to house the influx of foreigners and immigrants alike, who are living in increasingly worsening conditions. It is more difficult for foreigners to obtain social security through layers of French administrative services and in the wake up the immigrant crisis, there does exist an air of alienation in French society towards newer members. Adapting to a new culture while trying to retain their own identities is one of the main problems faced by those moving here.
“For the most part, the language barrier (becomes a problem)… despite coming from a country that speaks multiple regional languages, the administration always speaks English, so it was never difficult,” said Shromona. “Here, the biggest difference has been that I have had to use Google translate for most of my communication!” exclaimed Tamar. On the other hand, the security measures are usually positive departures for foreigners, despite the occasional terror threats. Tamar reflected, “if they (convicts) have people they know in the police, they could be let off the charges, while here it is much more rigid and you have to bear the costs and consequences for your actions, so yeah, I do feel much more safe here.” Shromona’s account of safety for women also comes as a reassurance – “I have no curfews here, unlike it has been at home where I was always required to return before a certain time that was considered ‘too late’”.
‘Making It’
Foreigners face a racial glass ceiling in the workplace as it is more difficult for them to acquire jobs, reasons being based solely on their ‘ethnicities’ or even solely their names. This is witnessed in the lower representation of Maghrebis and Africans in corporate jobs in France, especially for prestigious and better paying jobs. Foreigners are also under represented in the civil services. There are no public policies in France that specifically target or confer recognition to racial minorities. In contrast to the United States or Great Britain, France has proven to be less adept at punishing discrimination in jobs, housing and the provision of goods and services.
Economic factors and social privileges were outlined as being the defining factor for establishing these differences. “I was always bothered by my disadvantage because (of) my country’s economic status, and mine as a result. Since this wake-up call, I focus on my progress; I pray more and I do more charity work to become a better person because in the end, what really counts for me is the future world.”, said Narjis, who recently had to vacate her roadside couscous stand in Paris, because of complaints by community members about her setting up shop without permit.
“I believe the most major factor is the economic one. The economy here is strong, and people here have a hope for better life while back home the economic situation is really bad. There is no middle class, really. People are either very rich or very poor. And that becomes a precondition for shaping people’s thoughts and lives, owing to their economic conditions,”, said Tamar.
Would you return home?
Over 75,700 long-term foreigners moved back to their native countries in 2019, and for most it always proves to be a dilemma. While Adrian, Tamar, and Shromona saw a sense of reminiscing homes resurface, as they correlated on the same sentiment - “the multiculturality and collectivist sense of society back home is something I miss here every day (Adrian)”, Xhann had a more conflicted outlook.
“My plan has always been to go back home eventually. I knew if I wanted to go further in journalism-- I would need to study in the West. But the plan was always to go back and get married the traditional way, and have a family. But I’m finishing my doctorate in November.
And now that the time is coming closer—I’m not so sure. It feels like maybe I’d be sacrificing a part of myself for the sake of my tradition.” When asked why she wishes not to be entrenched in her tradition again, she said, “I’d just be like everyone else: becoming a mother, raising my children, and nothing else. Maybe I could become a lecturer at a nearby university. But there’s not a research culture. It’s not about innovation. You can easily get stuck teaching the same content for years. I want to keep going to conferences. I want to travel—not just for tourism, but to do something important. To develop myself. To share my ideas. To have people say: ‘We learned from you.’ I don’t have to be better than everyone else. I just want to contribute. But at the same time-- my mother is back home. She’s all alone. She’s growing old. And I don’t want to miss this part of her life. I'm not sure what to do. But I need to decide soon.”
The obstacles each individual faces are uniquely different, and they all have their reasons for wanting to come to France (or anywhere in the EU) in search of opportunities they would otherwise never have had. For many, these part-time opportunities of studying or working here provide the stepping stone they seek in order to secure them a stable professional life here. The lines of difference get blurred every day; integration grows deeper and more personal, yet many continue to feel that they remain ‘outsiders’.
(Upamanyu Ghosh)