Prénom de l'expert

Christophe

Nom de l'expert

BERTOSSI

While migration from Africa is the priority of European policies for the control of the European Union’s external borders, African migration dynamics are above all regional. Sub-Saharan migration is poorly connected to transcontinental flows: more than 70% remain in Africa.

On December 9, 2020 will be celebrated the 115^th anniversary of the 1905 law on French secularism (laïcité). On the very same day, a new law project will be presented by the French government, with the objective of further strengthening the “republican values” in order to fight against so-called “Islamist separatism” within French society.  

France’s current presidential campaign has created an unprecedented situation fuelled by revelations and a total absence of restraint, but it has not truly taken account of the disruptions of the last year: Brexit, the attempted coup in Turkey, the election of Donald Trump, the recapturing of Aleppo by Bashar al-Assad, Xi Jinping’s declarations about “economic globalization”, or the behavior of North Korea. The debate, or rather its absence, can be looked at in two ways.

Contrary to other immigration societies such as the United States, Canada or Australia, migrations is not a core element of European narratives on shared identity. Each country maintains a very particular understanding of his migratory past and on the extent to which it should become part of the national narrative. The question of a European memory of migration therefore struggles to emerge.

What will become of US foreign policy under Donald Trump? A selection of Ifri researchers has come together to offer their thoughts on this question. Our experts cover an array of topics through 14 contributions, ranging from the future Sino-American relations, through US engagement in the Middle East, to the prospects of a renewed transatlantic relationship. This analysis intends to help readers anticipate the outcomes of this election in order to facilitate decision-making.

Citizenship is a major issue in public debates when it comes to immigration in France. Passionate talks illustrate the current disagreements on the meaning of value such as “laïcité”, “universalism”, “equality”, “community” and on the way these should apply in social and political life.

Movements of African people, being within their countries, on the continent or heading Europe, have numerous and ancient causes. The term “migration” covers a plurality of situations with many internal as well as international implications. Therefore, reasons to migrate deserve a careful analysis. One cannot tackle such a phenomenon through mere border control policies or their externalization, as the European Union seems inclined to do.

Just a day after the murderous attacks that killed 129 people and wounded about 350 more in Paris and St Denis on November 13^th 2015, the word spread that a Syrian passport had been found near the body of one of the Stade de France’s attacker.