ABSTRACT

Among social policies in France, those concerning childhood are primarily aimed at populations living in deprived neighbourhoods where immigrant families live side by side with disadvantaged native French single mothers, disabled workers and long-term unemployed families. However, immigrant families are ‘captives’, and they can neither move easily due to lack financial resources nor access private housing markets because some private landlords refuse to accept immigrant tenants. This article is based on in-depth studies using parents’ life-stories, family case histories and semi-structured interviews with professionals carried out in various French cities. It was found that immigrant families, most of whom come from former French colonies (North Africa, Black Africa), have expectations about the French health, social and school systems. The future of their children is at the heart of their migration project. This paper shows how these families report making sacrifices for their children to achieve success in French society, in spite of the risks of living in poverty. But one unexpected risk lies in the prejudices of some professionals against their children. The paper sheds light on how immigrant parenting in France is still shaped by colonialism and class, and how it influences the policy response with various consequences.

摘要

在法国的社会政策中，与童年有关的政策主要针对生活在贫困社区的人群，在那里移民家庭与法国本土的弱势单身母亲、残疾工人和长期失业家庭并肩生活。然而，移民家庭是“俘虏”，他们既不能因为缺乏资金而轻易搬家，也不能因为一些私人房东拒绝接受移民租户而进入私人住房市场。本文基于使用父母的生活故事、家庭案例历史和对法国各个城市的专业人士进行的半结构化访谈的深入研究。研究发现，大多数来自前法国殖民地（北非、黑非）的移民家庭对法国的健康、社会和学校系统抱有期望。他们孩子的未来是他们移民项目的核心。本文展示了这些家庭如何报告他们为孩子做出牺牲，以在法国社会取得成功，尽管有生活在贫困中的风险。但一个意想不到的风险在于一些专业人士对他们孩子的偏见。该论文阐明了法国的移民养育方式仍然受到殖民主义和阶级的影响，以及它如何影响政策反应并产生各种后果。