How has politics affected the issue of immigration in France?
We now have polarized politics around the issue of migration. We have the extreme right keeping the issue alive, even for people who do not vote for them. So migration becomes very high on the agendas of political parties. When that lasts for a long time, it transforms the issue into a problem. It becomes complicated to change the framing of the issue, even if you need migrant workers. The short-term views of politicians have had some very long-term consequences. But France is not the only example. Look what’s happening in The Netherlands. The period from 2000 to 2008 has seen a constant politicization of the issue, and the result is actually negative net migration since 2005. More people are leaving the Netherlands than actually coming in. The message is so Islamophobic that people are going somewhere else.
