Is it true that immigrants prefer to have neighborhood relationships with their compatriots?

In France there is a common idea designated communautarisme that often comes up as political news: the idea that ethnic or immigrant groups do not mingle with “native” French (defined as people born in France to French parents) and that their neighborhood relations are often limited to people from their own country of origin. However, a research survey that investigates this question among others has found that only 40% of sub-Saharan Africans’ social ties are with people from the same region (a figure that falls to 15% for relations with people from the same country), 17% are with people from North Africa, and 8% with immigrants from other countries, whereas 34% of their relations are with French-born people. 

Although it’s true that immigrants less often participate in social relations within their neighborhood (inviting people over, exchanging favors) than “native” French people, it is also true that the difference between the neighborhood social practices of managers and those of manual workers is much sharper than the corresponding distinction between native French and immigrants. Being of migrant origin has less effect on neighborhood social relations than social class does. 

Source :

"Mon quartier, mes voisins" survey, INED, 2018 [FR]

Online: June 2024