The French paradox, or a bottom-up modification of integration policy. The republican model and Polish immigrant organisations in France

Abstract

The article provides empirical knowledge on the functioning of the French paradox in integration policy at the mezzo level. The research problem is to explain how immigrant organisations take part in bringing out and sustaining the contradictions inherent in the French model of integration. The analysis is based on 48 individual in-depth interviews conducted in the frame of grass-roots research carried out among activists of Polish voluntary associations in France as well as representatives of French public institutions and non-governmental organisations. The individual in-depth interviews concerned the conditions under which Polish associations function, including the characteristics of France as a host country. The main conclusion of the article is that despite their legal and institutional invisibility, migrant minorities -the elephant in the room of integration policy in France -are able to achieve their own specific goals and forge a public presence through associations operating pursuant to Loi 1901.