Maghrebis in France

Maghrebis in France or French Maghrebis are immigrants from Maghreb countries (mainly Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia) in France. The term may also refer to French-born persons who have Maghrebi parents or who have Maghrebi ancestral background. The term includes all ethnicities from the Maghreb living in France (Arabs and Berbers).

Migration history

During Al-Andalus, Maghrebis were known by some Europeans as Moors.[1] Those of them who speak Arabic are considered western Arabs in contrast to the eastern Arabs which are mostly in the Middle East.

Population and distribution

Maghrebis make up the largest non-European ethnic group in France. Estimates range between 4 million and 6 million people, depending on the number of generations of immigrant descendants included in the estimations, with part or full Maghrebi ancestry in France forming about 6-9% of France's total population. Out of this group, Berbers, who generally call themselves Amazigh and not Maghrebis, are estimated to number around 2 million people.[2][3]

According to the Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques (INSEE), 16% of newborns in France (about 130,000 newborns per year) between 2006 and 2008 have at least one Maghrebi grandparent.[4]

Maghrebis have settled mainly in the industrial regions in France, especially in the Paris region but also in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Languedoc-Roussillon, Alsace, Rhône-Alpes and Corsica.

Paris

Further information: Maghrebian community of Paris

The Paris metropolitan area has a large Maghrebian population. As of 2008, 18.1% of the population of the Parisian commune of Saint-Denis was Maghrebian.[5]

Notable people

Many famous French people like Edith Piaf,[6] Isabelle Adjani, Arnaud Montebourg, Alain Bashung, Dany Boon, Zinedine Zidane, Jacques Villeret, Daniel Prévost and Maïwenn have full or partial Maghrebi ancestry.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "The Moors were simply Maghrebis, inhabitants of the maghreb, the western part of the Islamic world, that extends from Spain to Tunisia, and represents a homogeneous cultural entity", Titus Burckhardt, "Moorish culture in Spain". Suhail Academy. 1997, p.7
  2. ↑ Yazid Sabeg et Laurence Méhaignerie, Les oubliés de l'égalité des chances, Institut Montaigne, 2004
  3. ↑ Pour une histoire sociale du berbère en France, Salem Shaker, Inalco, 2004
  4. ↑ Les immigrés, les descendants d'immigrés et leurs enfants, Pascale Breuil-Genier, Catherine Borrel, Bertrand Lhommeau, Insee 2011
  5. ↑ Maxwell, Rahsaan Daniel. Tensions and Tradeoffs: Ethnic Minority Migrant Integration in Britain and France. ProQuest, 2008. p. 197. ISBN 0549874585, 9780549874584.
  6. ↑ Carolyn Burke. No Regrets: The Life of Edith Piaf, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2011, p.5

Bibliography

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