The French far right and immigrants in times of crisis: the 1930s and the 1980s
Schor, R.
Revue Europeenne des Migrations Internationales 12(2): 241-260
1996
ISSN/ISBN: 0765-0752 PMID: 12292524 Document Number: 306127
"Like the 1930s, the 1980s were characterized, in France, by a profound economic, social, and moral crisis.... The far right exploited the general mood of anxiety to place immigrants in the center of the debate, blaming the immigrant communities for the country's problems.... In the 1930s, the group designated as most dangerous was the Jews; in the 1980s, it was the North Africans. As a result, the extreme right urges that borders be closed, that access to citizenship be restricted, that as many foreigners as possible be turned away. Although racist ideas were commonly expressed in the 1930s, they are no longer openly espoused today, with the exception of certain fringe groups. But, aside from this difference and the origin of the groups perceived as most threatening, the modus operandi of the xenophobic process has varied little in 50 years." (SUMMARY IN ENG AND SPA)