Study Reveals Success Stories of Second-Generation Maghrebi Immigrants in France

While the first generation of Maghrebis did not really experience social and economic mobility, this is not the case for their children. This is what Arnaud Lacheret demonstrates through 50 testimonies collected in his book "The Integrated - Successes of the second generation of North African immigration". This confirms the data from the "Trajectories and Origins" survey by Ined. In 2010, the children of Moroccan-born parents were 31% holders of a higher education diploma, just three points less than the French majority population (Ined defines this population as non-immigrant metropolitan French and non-children of immigrants or overseas nationals), reports L’Express.

As for those from Algeria, the rate was 20%. "The generational leap is spectacular with a near catch-up in a single generation for the descendants of Moroccan and Tunisian immigrants," notes the sociologist. In particular, the comparison in terms of socio-professional categories of the evolution of the children of Maghrebis and that of Italians or Spaniards. That of the descendants of Algerian immigration, less educated at the outset, is similar to that of the descendants of Portuguese. "Over a generation, the progression is the same between European or extra-European populations," adds the academic, also noting that the children of Maghrebi immigrants favor business studies that allow them to earn money quickly and obtain a managerial position.

"It’s very cruel for the positive discrimination policies practiced in France. We promote access to Sciences Po, but the goal of these young people is not to be civil servants. They want to succeed in the private sector," confides the former chief of staff of the LR mayor of Rilieux-la-Pape (Rhône) from 2014 to 2017. These young people also turn to scientific or technical studies, much more valued in North African culture, which allows them to partially escape discrimination and favoritism. Proof of this, Moroccan students are for example very numerous at Polytechnique. Les Intégrés also addresses the differences between women and men from the Maghrebi immigrant community. "Often, the first arrivals reproduce a North African rural pattern. The boys come first, while the girls have to negotiate the slightest space of freedom. They fight constantly," observes the sociologist.

He continues: "But when they encounter difficulties at school or face refusals for their internships or their first job, these women are more used to obstacles and frustrations, unlike the men who have been told yes to everything." Consequently, men say they are more marked by discrimination than women. "Moreover, boys from the Maghrebi immigrant community are victims of more prejudices. Arab men are perceived by French society as conquerors, where women are more seen as weak victims who need to be emancipated." The author of the book also refutes the tendency of politicians to link all integration problems to Islam. "It is false to link all integration problems to Islam. The first arrivals from the Maghreb are rather conservative. But it is a patriarchal and rural culture that we find around the Mediterranean," says Arnaud Lacheret, denouncing the currents that "target the second generation, and preferably those who fail to evolve above the social condition of their parents".