ALGERIANS IN THE FRENCH NATION-STATE: human rights, migration and citizenship

Abstract

: The colonization/decolonization process in Algeria led to constant migratory flows from the countryside to the cities and from Africa to France. This long process of displacement disrupted traditional African structures, without offering additional alternative solutions. To contribute to the understanding of this process, the life stories of Algerian immigrants to the French nation-state are analyzed, reflecting their border identities, according to guidelines proposed by Abdelmalek Sayad. In this reflection, the concept of migration, as a total process, is evaluated in light of the immigrants' "place of speech." The theoretical/methodological framework is interdisciplinary, based on concepts of migration, colonialism, and decolonization, based on the example of first- and second-generation immigrants settled in France.