The Immigration Aftermath of Decolonization: The Case of Second-Generation North Africans in France

Richard Alba, State University of New York at Albany
Roxane Silberman, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)

Immigrations resulting from decolonization challenge the ability of researchers to track the second generation through classifications based on country of origin. We consider a classic case - the immigration from North Africa to France following the independence of Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia. It was ethnically complex, composed of the former colonists of European background (the pieds noirs) and low-wage laborers belonging to the indigenous population (the Maghrebins). The key to distinguishing these two populations lies in the exact citizenship status of the immigrants, for the former colonists were French by birth and the others were not. Analyzing micro-level data from the censuses of 1968, 1975, 1982, and 1990, we apply this distinction to the family origins of the second generation. We show that the pied-noir population exhibits signs of rapid integration with the native French, while the Maghrebin population remains apart. This finding suggests a method for future research on incorporation.