Editing Demographics of France (section)

==Immigration==
{{Main|Immigration to France}}

Since the 19th century, France has continued being a country of immigration. During the ''[[Trente Glorieuses]]'' (1946–1975), the country's reconstruction and steady economic growth led to the labor-immigration of the 1960s, when many employers found manpower in villages located in Southern Europe and North Africa. In 2008, the French national institute of statistics [[INSEE]] estimated that 11.8 million foreign-born immigrants and their direct descendants ([[immigrant generations|second generation]]) lived in France representing 19% of the country's population. About 5.5 million are of European origin and 4 million of [[Maghrebis|Maghrebi]] origin.<ref name="insee.fr">[http://www.insee.fr/fr/themes/document.asp?reg_id=0&ref_id=ip1287 Être né en France d'un parent immigré], [[Insee Première]], n°1287, mars 2010, Catherine Borrel et Bertrand Lhommeau; Insee.fr</ref><ref name="Insee_1">[http://www.insee.fr/fr/themes/tableau.asp?reg_id=0&ref_id=immigrespaysnais Répartition des immigrés par pays de naissance 2008], Insee.fr, October 2011</ref>{{image frame|content={{Graph:Chart
|height=200
|width=350
|xGrid=
|yGrid=
|xAxisTitleDude
|y1Title=% of population
|y2Title=million
|yAxisMin=0
|type=line
|showSymbols=yes
|legend=
|x= 1921, 1926, 1931, 1936, 1946, 1954, 1962, 1968, 1975, 1982, 1990, 1999, 2010, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021
|y1= 3.7,  5.7,  6.6,  5.6,  5.0,  5.4,  6.2,  6.6,  7.4,  7.4,  7.4,  7.3,  8.2,  9.8,  10.6,  11.8,  12.4, 13.7, 13.9, 14.1
|y2= 1.4, 2.28, 2.73, 2.32, 1.99, 2.29, 2.86, 3.28, 3.89, 4.03, 4.17, 5.34, 7.92, 8.03, 8.39, 8.69, 9.29, 9.49, 9.51, 9.56 
|colors=green, blue}}|width=|align=|caption=Proportion of immigrant population of France 1921–2021 <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/3633212#graphique-Tableau1_radio1|title=Immigrés, étrangers {{!}} Insee {{!}} Évolution de la population immigrée en France de 1921 à 2015 {{!}} en %|website=INSEE|access-date=2019-05-31 |publisher=[[Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques]]}}</ref>|border=no}}Immigration to France exceeded 200,000 in recent years, as shown in table below.<ref>[http://www.sudouest.fr/2014/11/28/qui-sont-les-nouveaux-immigres-qui-vivent-en-france-1751452-705.php Qui sont les nouveaux immigrés qui vivent en France], Sudouest.fr, 2011</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size: 90%"
! Region
! 2004
! 2005
! 2006
! 2007
! 2008
! 2009
! 2010
! 2011
! 2012
! % 2012
|-
| Europe||80 500||78 660||80 120||79 290||80 330||75 040||88 820||94 580||105 830||46 % (including from Eastern Europe)
|-
| Africa||70 200||66 110||62 340||62 140||63 470||66 480||65 610||66 280||68 640||30 % (including from Maghreb)
|-
| Asia||30 960||30 120||30 520||32 070||30 180||32 960||29 810||32 430||32 060||14 % (including from China)
|-
| America and Oceania||19 810||19 990||20 460||18 770||21 440||20 450||26 270||23 360||23 070|| 10%
|-
| All countries||201 470||194 880||193 440||192 270||195 420||194 930||210 510||216 650||229 600|| 100%
|}

=== Before World War II ===
In the 20th century, France experienced a high rate of immigration from other countries. The immigration rate was particularly high during the 1920s and 1930s. France was the European country which suffered the most from World War I, with respect to the size of its population, losing 1.3 million young men out of a total population of 40 million. France was also at the time the European country with the lowest [[fertility rate]], which meant that the country had a very hard time recovering from the heavy losses of the war. France had to open its doors to immigration, which was the only way to prevent population decline between the two world wars.<ref>Hargreaves, Alec G., Multi-Ethnic France, Routledge, New York, New York, 2007, 265 pages, pages 16–17</ref>

At the time, France was the only European country to permit mass immigration. The other major European powers, such as the UK or Germany, still had high fertility rates, so immigration was seen as unnecessary, and it was also undesirable to the vast majority of their populations. The majority of immigrants in the 1920s came from Italy and Poland, though from the 1930s, some also came from elsewhere in southern and eastern Europe, and the first wave of colonial French subjects from Africa and Asia. This mass immigration was ended and partially reversed by the economic problems of the 1930s.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YbzsBPuhyggC&q=immigration+france+1920s+poles+italians&pg=PA143|title=The Cambridge Survey of World Migration|first=Robin|last=Cohen|date=2 November 1995|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|via=Google Books|isbn=9780521444057}}</ref> By the end of the [[Spanish Civil War]], some half-million [[Spanish Civil War|Spanish]] Republican [[refugee]]s had crossed
the border into France.<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/2809025.stm Spanish Civil War fighters look back], BBC News, 23 February 2003</ref>

Local populations often opposed immigrant manpower, leading to occasional outbursts of violence. [[Massacre of Italians at Aigues-Mortes|The most violent]] was a [[pogrom]] against Italian workers who worked in the [[salt evaporation ponds]] of Peccais, erupted in [[Aigues-Mortes]] in 1893, killing at least nine and injuring hundreds on the Italian side.<ref>Enzo Barnabà, ''Le sang des marais'', Marseille, 1993</ref>

=== After World War II ===
After World War II, the French fertility rate rebounded considerably, as noted above, but economic growth in France was so high that new immigrants had to be brought into the country. Most immigrants were [[Portuguese people|Portuguese]] as well as [[Arab]]s and [[Berber people|Berbers]] from North Africa. The first wave arrived in the 1950s, but the major arrivals happened in the 1960s and 1970s.  One million European ''[[pieds-noirs]]'' also migrated from Algeria in 1962 and the following years during the chaotic independence of Algeria.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/|title=Breaking News, World News & Multimedia|website=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=1 September 2017}}</ref> France has over three million French of Algerian descent, a small percentage of whom are third-or fourth-generation French.

French law facilitated the immigration of thousands of French settlers (''colons'' in French language), ethnic or national French from former colonies of North and West Africa, India and [[Indochina]], to mainland France. 1.6 million European ''pieds noirs'' settlers migrated from Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html|title=For Pieds-Noirs, the Anger Endures|author=James M. Markham|date=6 April 1988|website=Query.nytimes.com|access-date=1 September 2017}}</ref> In the 1970s, over 30,000 French settlers left Cambodia during the [[Khmer Rouge]] regime as the [[Pol Pot]] government confiscated their farms and land properties. However, after the [[1973 energy crisis]], laws limiting immigration were passed. In addition, the country's birth rate dropped significantly during this time.

Between 1956 and 1967, about 235,000 Sephardic North African Jews from Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco also immigrated to France because of the decline of the French colonial empire and following the [[Six-Day War]]. Hence, by 1968, Sephardic North African Jews were the majority of the Jews in France. As the new immigrants were already culturally French, they needed little time to adjust to French society.<ref>[[Esther Benbassa]], ''The Jews of France: A History from Antiquity to the Present'', Princeton University Press, 1999</ref>

In the late 1970s, the end of high economic growth in France caused immigration policies to be considerably tightened, starting with laws by [[Charles Pasqua]] passed in 1986 and 1993. New immigrants were allowed only through the family reunion schemes (wives and children moving to France to live with husbands or fathers already living in France), or as [[OFPRA|asylum]] seekers. [[Illegal immigration]] thus developed as immigration policy became more rigid. In 2006, The French Ministry of the Interior estimated clandestine immigrants in France amounted to anywhere between 200,000 and 400,000 and expected between 80,000 and 100,000 people to enter the country illegally each year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rfi.fr/actufr/articles/076/article_43041.asp|title=RFI – Immigration – Combien d'immigrés clandestins en France?|website=Rfi.fr|access-date=1 September 2017|archive-date=22 August 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110822153905/http://www.rfi.fr/actufr/articles/076/article_43041.asp|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The Pasqua laws are a significant landmark in the shift in France's immigration policy through the course of the 20th century.
They are a sign of the securitization aspect of immigration, giving more power to the police, allowing them to perform random identity checks and deport immigrants without legal papers. The rise in anti-immigration sentiments was reinforced by a series of terrorist bombs in Paris in 1986, linked to Muslim immigrants in France.<ref>Freedman, Jane, Immigration and Insecurity in France, Ashgate Publishing Limited, Hants, England, 2004, 182 p., page 42</ref>

Tightening immigration laws, as well as notions of "zero immigration", reflected national views that arose within the discussion around immigrant family reunification and national identity. [[Institut français des relations internationales]]
(IFRI) immigration expert, Christophe Bertossi, states that stigmatized as both a challenge to social cohesion and a "burden" for the French economy, family immigration is increasingly restricted and constructed as a racial issue. The "immigration choisie" policy strives consequently to select migrants according to their profile, skills and, still indirectly, origins.<ref name=autogenerated1>Bertossi, Christophe, France: the state strives to shape "chosen immigration", IFRI, Paris, July 2008</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://ifri.org/?page=detail-contribution&id=5235&id_provenance=103&provenance_context_id=12|title=IFRI – E-note – Notes de l'Ifri – France: the State strives to shape "chosen" immigration – Institut français des relations internationales|date=26 July 2011|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726172300/http://ifri.org/?page=detail-contribution&id=5235&id_provenance=103&provenance_context_id=12|archive-date=26 July 2011}}</ref>

Nonetheless, immigration rates in the 1980s and 1990s were much lower than in the 1960s and 1970s, especially compared to other European countries. The regions of emigrations also widened, with new immigrants now coming from sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. In the 1970s, a small but well-publicized wave of Chilean and Argentine political refugees from their countries' dictatorships found asylum in France.

Ethnic [[Overseas Vietnamese|Vietnamese]] started to become a visible segment of society after the massive influx of refugees after the end of the [[Vietnam War]] in 1975. The expulsions of ethnic [[Hoa people|Chinese]] from Vietnam in the 1970s led to a wave of immigration and the settlement of the high-rise neighbourhood near the ''Porte d'Italie'', where the [[Chinatowns in Europe|Chinatown of Paris]] is located. Located in the [[13ème arrondissement, Paris|13th arrondissement]], the area contains many [[Chinese diaspora in France|ethnic Chinese]] inhabitants.<ref>Smith, Craig S. [http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/05/09/news/journal.php Face behind Paris 'bistro' counter becomes Asian]. ''[[International Herald Tribune]]'', 10 May 2005.</ref>

According to the distinguished French historian of immigration Gérard Noiriel, in 1989 one third of the population currently living in France was of "foreign" descent.<ref>"Immigration is hardly a recent development in French history, as Gérard Noiriel amply demonstrates in his history of French immigration, The French Melting Pot. Noiriel estimates that one third of the population currently living in France is of "foreign" descent", Marie-Christine Weidmann-Koop, ''France at the dawn of the twenty-first century, trends and transformations'', Summa Publications, Inc., 2000, p. 160. [Noiriel’s ''Le Creuset français'' was published in 1989.]</ref>

According to Michèle Tribalat, researcher at [[INED]], there were, in 1999, approximately 14 million persons of foreign ancestry (about a quarter of the population), defined as either immigrants or people with at least one immigrant parent or grandparent. Half of them were of European ancestry (including 5.2 million from [[Southern Europe|South Europe]] (Italy, Spain, Portugal and former Yugoslavia)). The rest were from [[Maghreb]] (3 million), [[Sub-Saharan Africa]] (680,000), Turkey (320,000) and other parts of the world (2.5 million).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ined.fr/publications/population/2004/t1-04F.html#tribalat|title=Michèle Tribalat's 2004 study for the INE|website=Ined.fr|access-date=1 September 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051020025243/http://www.ined.fr/publications/population/2004/t1-04F.html#tribalat|archive-date=20 October 2005}}</ref> Immigrants from the Maghreb are commonly referred to as ''[[beur]]'', a [[verlan]] slang term derived from the word ''arabe'' (French for Arab).<ref>{{cite journal | last = Valdman | first = Albert | title = La Langue des faubourgs et des banlieues: de l'argot au français populaire | journal=The French Review | volume = 73 | issue = 6 | page = 1188 | publisher=American Association of Teachers of French | date = May 2000 | jstor = 399371}}</ref>

The large-scale immigration from Islamic countries has sparked controversy in France. Nevertherless, according to [[Justin Vaïsse]], in spite of challenges and setbacks like the [[2005 civil unrest in France|riots in November 2005]], in Parisian suburbs, where many immigrants live secluded from society with very few capabilities to live in better conditions, the integration of Muslim immigrants is happening as part of a background evolution<ref>[http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/testimonies/2006/0112france_vaisse/vaisse20060112.pdf Unrest in France, November 2005: immigration, islam and the challenge of integration] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090306193448/http://www.brookings.edu/~/media/Files/rc/testimonies/2006/0112france_vaisse/vaisse20060112.pdf |date=6 March 2009 }}, Justin Vaïsse, Presentation to Congressional Staff, 10 and 12 January 2006, Washington, DC</ref> and recent studies confirmed the results of their assimilation, showing that "North Africans seem to be characterized by a high degree of cultural integration reflected in a relatively high propensity to [[exogamy]]" with rates ranging from 20% to 50%.<ref>"Compared with the Europeans, the Tunisians belong to a much more recent wave of migration and occupy a much less favourable socioeconomic position, yet their pattern of marriage behaviour is nonetheless similar.... Algerian and Moroccan immigrants have a higher propensity to exogamy than Asians or
Portuguese but a much weaker labour market position.... Confirming the results from other analyses of immigrant assimilation in France, this study shows that North Africans seem to be characterized by a high degree of cultural integration (reflected in a relatively high propensity to exogamy, notably for Tunisians) that contrasts with a persistent disadvantage in the labour market".[http://www.cairn.info/resume.php?ID_ARTICLE=POPE_802_0239 Intermarriage and assimilation: disparities in levels of exogamy among immigrants in France], Mirna Safi, Volume 63 2008/2</ref> According to [[Emmanuel Todd]], the relatively high exogamy among French Algerians can be explained by the colonial link between France and Algeria.<ref>[[Emmanuel Todd]], ''Le destin des immigrés: assimilation et ségrégation dans les démocraties occidentales'', Paris, 1994, p.307</ref><ref>Many famous French people, including [[Edith Piaf]], [[Zinedine Zidane]], [[Isabelle Adjani]], [[Alain Bashung]], [[Claude Zidi]], [[Arnaud Montebourg]], [[Catherine Belkhodja]], [[Jacques Villeret]] and [[Dany Boon]], are partly of Algerian descent.</ref> One illustration of this growing resentment and job insecurity can be drawn from related events, such as the 2005 riots, which ensued in former President Chirac declaring a state of emergency.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/05/international/europe/05france.html | work=The New York Times | first=Craig S. | last=Smith | title=Immigrant Rioting Flares in France for Ninth Night | date=5 November 2005}}</ref> Massive demonstrations to express frustration over unemployment took place in March 2009.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7951949.stm |work=BBC News | title=French unions claim 3m on street | date=19 March 2009}}</ref> The importance of integration was brought to the forefront of the political agenda in Sarkozy's 2007 presidential campaign. Upon being elected, he symbolically created the [[French Ministry of Immigration, Integration, National Identity and Codevelopment]]. Integration is one of the pillars of its political aims.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.immigration.gouv.fr/spip.php?page=dossiers_them_int&numrubrique=323|title=Intégration et identité nationale – IMMIG.FR|date=17 May 2009|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090517130401/http://www.immigration.gouv.fr/spip.php?page=dossiers_them_int&numrubrique=323|archive-date=17 May 2009}}</ref>

=== Today ===

In 2014, the National Institute of Statistics (INSEE is its acronym in French) published a study, according to which the numbers of Spanish, Portuguese and Italians in France had doubled between 2009 and 2012.

According to the French Institute, the increase resulting from the financial crisis that hit several European countries in that period, has pushed up the number of Europeans installed in France.<ref name="sudouest.fr"/>
Statistics on Spanish immigrants in France show a growth of 107% between 2009 and 2012, from 5300 to 11,000 people.<ref name="sudouest.fr"/><ref name="20minutos.es"/>

Of 229,000 foreigners in France in 2012, nearly 8% were Portuguese, British 5%, Spanish 5%, Italians 4%, Germans 4%, Romanians 3%, Belgians 3% and Dutch 2%.<ref name="sudouest.fr"/>

With the increase of Spanish, Portuguese and Italians in France, in 2012 46% of immigrants were European, while the percentage for Francophone African immigrants reached 30%, of which Moroccans were 7%, Algerians 7%, and Tunisians 3%. Meanwhile, 14% of all immigrants who settled in France in that year were from Asian countries: 3% from China, 2% from Turkey, 10% from America and Oceania, Americans and Brazilians accounting for 2% each.<ref name="sudouest.fr"/>

As of 2008, the French national institute of statistics [[INSEE]] estimated that 11.8 million foreign-born immigrants and their direct descendants (limited to second-generation born in France) lived in France representing 19% of the country's population. More than 5.5 million are of European origin and about 4 million of [[Maghrebis|Maghrebi]] origin (20% of Algerian origin and 15% of Moroccan or Tunisian origin). Immigrants aged 18 to 50 count for 2.7 million (10% of population age 18–50) and 5 million for all ages (8% of population). The second-generation immigrants aged 18 to 50 make up 3.1 million (12% of 18–50) and 6.5 million for all ages (11% of population).<ref name="insee.fr"/><ref name="Insee_1"/> Without considering citizenship at birth, people not born in metropolitan France and their direct descendants made up 30% of the population aged 18–50 in metropolitan France as of 2008.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ined.fr/fichier/t_telechargement/45660/telechargement_fichier_fr_dt168.13janvier11.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=19 February 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130626043740/http://www.ined.fr/fichier/t_telechargement/45660/telechargement_fichier_fr_dt168.13janvier11.pdf |archive-date=26 June 2013  }}</ref>

The region with the largest proportion of immigrants is the [[Île-de-France (region)|Île-de-France]] (Greater Paris), where 40% of immigrants live. Other important regions are [[Rhône-Alpes]] (Lyon) and [[Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur]] (Marseille). The most important individual countries of origin as of 2007 were Algeria (702,000), Morocco (645,000), Portugal (576,000), Italy (323,000), Spain (262,000) and Turkey (234,000). However, immigration from Asia (especially China), as well as from Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa (Senegal, Mali) is gaining in importance.

42% of the immigrants are from Africa (30% from [[Maghreb]] and 12% from Francophone Sub-Saharan Africa), 38% from Europe (mainly from Portugal, Italy and Spain), 14% from Asia and 5% from America and Oceania.<ref name="Insee_1"/> Outside Europe and North Africa, the highest rate of immigration is from Vietnam, Cambodia and Senegal.

The following table shows immigrants and second-generation immigrants by origin as of 2008 according to a study published by Insee in 2012. Third-generation immigrants, illegal immigrants, as well as ethnic minorities like black people from the [[Overseas departments and territories of France|French overseas territories]] residing in metropolitan France (800,000), [[Romani people|Roms]] (500,000) or people born in Maghreb with French citizenship at birth (1 million [[History of the Jews in France|Maghrebi Jews]], [[Harkis]] and [[pieds-noirs]]) and their descendants, who are French by birth and not considered as immigrants or immigrant descendants, are not taken into account.<ref>[http://www.insee.fr/fr/themes/document.asp?reg_id=0&ref_id=IMMFRA12_g_Flot1_pop Fiches thématiques – Population immigrée – Immigrés – Insee Références – Édition 2012], Insee.fr, 2012</ref>{{Page needed|date=March 2022}}

Net migration rate 1.06 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.) Country comparison to the world: 61st

===Net migration of Metropolitan France, 1946–present===

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ France Population Data 
! Year !! Population on January 1st !! Net migration
|-
| 1946 || 40,125,230 || +25,000
|-
| 1947 || 40,448,254 || +130,000
|-
| 1948 || 40,910,569 || +45,000
|-
| 1949 || 41,313,195 || +35,000
|-
| 1950 || 41,647,258 || +35,000
|-
| 1951 || 42,010,088 || +30,000
|-
| 1952 || 42,300,981 || +20,000
|-
| 1953 || 42,618,354 || +19,071
|-
| 1954 || 42,885,138 || +50,872
|-
| 1955 || 43,227,872 || +120,000
|-
| 1956 || 43,627,467 || +170,000
|-
| 1957 || 44,058,683 || +220,000
|-
| 1958 || 44,563,043 || +140,000
|-
| 1959 || 45,014,662 || +130,000
|-
| 1960 || 45,464,797 || +140,000
|-
| 1961 || 45,903,656 || +180,000
|-
| 1962 || 46,422,000 || +860,200
|-
| 1963 || 47,573,406 || +214,599
|-
| 1964 || 48,059,029 || +185,000
|-
| 1965 || 48,561,800 || +110,000
|-
| 1966 || 48,953,792 || +125,000
|-
| 1967 || 49,373,537 || +92,000
|-
| 1968 || 49,723,072 || +102,308
|-
| 1969 || 50,107,735 || +151,574
|-
| 1970 || 50,528,219 || +179,911
|-
| 1971 || 51,016,234 || +142,586
|-
| 1972 || 51,485,953 || +102,314
|-
| 1973 || 51,915,873 || +106,448
|-
| 1974 || 52,320,725 || +30,608
|-
| 1975 || 52,600,000 || +13,626
|-
| 1976 || 52,798,338 || +57,386
|-
| 1977 || 53,019,005 || +44,038
|-
| 1978 || 53,271,566 || +19,361
|-
| 1979 || 53,481,073 || +34,765
|-
| 1980 || 53,731,387 || +43,974
|-
| 1981 || 54,028,630 || +55,710
|-
| 1982 || 54,335,000 || +60,865
|-
| 1983 || 54,649,984 || +56,000
|-
| 1984 || 54,894,854 || +45,000
|-
| 1985 || 55,157,303 || +38,000
|-
| 1986 || 55,411,238 || +39,000
|-
| 1987 || 55,681,780 || +44,000
|-
| 1988 || 55,966,142 || +57,000
|-
| 1989 || 56,269,810 || +71,000
|-
| 1990 || 56,577,000 || +80,000
|-
| 1991 || 56,840,661 || +90,000
|-
| 1992 || 57,110,533 || +90,000
|-
| 1993 || 57,369,161 || +70,000
|-
| 1994 || 57,565,008 || +50,000
|-
| 1995 || 57,752,535 || +40,000
|-
| 1996 || 57,935,959 || +35,000
|-
| 1997 || 58,116,018 || +40,000
|-
| 1998 || 58,298,962 || +45,000
|-
| 1999 || 58,496,613 || +60,000
|-
| 2000 || 58,858,198 || +70,000
|-
| 2001 || 59,266,572 || +85,000
|-
| 2002 || 59,685,899 || +95,000
|-
| 2003 || 60,101,841 || +100,000
|-
| 2004 || 60,505,421 || +105,000
|-
| 2005 || 60,963,264 || +95,000
|-
| 2006 || 61,399,733 || +115,025
|-
| 2007 || 61,795,238 || +74,659
|-
| 2008 || 62,134,866 || +66,930
|-
| 2009 || 62,465,709 || +44,222
|-
| 2010 || 62,765,235 || +43,354
|-
| 2011 || 63,070,344 || +47,426
|-
| 2012 || 63,375,971 || +90,831
|-
| 2013 || 63,697,865 || +106,880
|-
| 2014 || 64,027,958 || +38,699
|-
| 2015 || 64,300,821 || +53,025
|-
| 2016 || 64,468,792 || +87,964
|-
| 2017 || 64,639,133 || +166,654
|-
| 2018 || 64,844,037 || +211,349
|-
| 2019 || 65,096,768 || +139,849
|-
| 2020 || 65,269,154 || +227,847
|-
| 2021 (p) || 65,505,213 || +193,000
|-
| 2022 (p) || 65,721,831 || +193,000
|-
| 2023 (p) || 65,925,961 || +193,000
|-
| 2024 (p) || 66,142,961 || na
|} 
 
{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|-
! Immigrants by origin (2008) in thousands
! Immigrants
! Second generation
! Total
! %
|-
| Spain||257||620||877||7.3%
|-
| Italy||317||920||1 237||10.4%
|-
| Portugal||581||660||1 241||10.4%
|-
| Other countries from EU27||653||920||1 573||13.2%
|-
| Other European countries||224||210||434||3.6%
|-
| '''Europe Total''' ||'''2 032'''||'''3 330'''||'''5 362'''||'''44.9%'''
|-
| Algeria||713||1 000||1 713||14.3%
|-
| Morocco||654||660||1 314||11.0%
|-
| Tunisia||235||290||525||4.4%
|-
| '''Maghreb Total''' ||'''1 602'''||'''1 950''' ||'''3 552'''||'''29.7%'''
|-
| Subsaharan Africa||669||570||1 239||10.4%
|-
| Turkey||239||220||459||3.8%
|-
| SouthEast Asia||163||160||323||2.7%
|-
| Other Asian countries||355||210||565||4.7%
|-
| America/Oceania||282||170||452||3.8%
|-
| '''Other Regions Total'''||'''1 708''' ||'''1 330'''||'''3 038'''||'''25.4%'''
|-
| '''Total'''||'''5 342'''||'''6 610'''||'''11 952'''||'''100.00%'''
|}

{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible"
! rowspan="3" |Place of Birth
! colspan="2" |Year
|-
! colspan="2" |2011<ref>{{Cite web |title=CensusHub2 |url=https://ec.europa.eu/CensusHub2/intermediate.do?&method=forwardResult |access-date=2023-07-13 |website=ec.europa.eu}}</ref>
|-
!Number
!%
|-
|
|
|
|-
!Place of Birth in Reporting Country (France)
|'''57,611,142'''
!
|-
!Place of Birth Not in Reporting Country
|'''7,321,237'''
!
|-
|Other EU Member State
|2,119,454
|
|-
|Outside EU but within Europe
|313,555
|
|-
|Outside Europe/ Non-European
|5,201,782
|
|-
|Africa
|3,596,143
|
|-
|Asia
|925,183
|
|-
|North America
|77,569
|
|-
|Caribbean, South or Central America
|279,529
|
|-
|Oceania
|9,803
|
|-
|
|
|
|-
!Total
|'''64,933,400'''
!100%
|}

Immigrants by country of birth as of 2022:<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/944172/geographical-origins-of-immigrants-france/ | title=Number of immigrants by origin in France 2021 }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
|-
!Country
!Population
|-
|{{flag|Algeria}}
|887,800
|-
|{{flag|Morocco}}
|836,400
|-
|{{flagicon|EU}}{{flag|Portugal}}
|573,000
|-
|{{flag|Tunisia}}
|328,200
|-
|{{flagicon|EU}}{{flag|Italy}}
|279,300
|-
|{{flagicon|EU}}{{flag|Spain}}
|243,100
|-
|{{flag|Turkey}}
|233,000
|-
|{{flag|Comoros}}
|148,300
|-
|{{flag|United Kingdom}}
|145,200
|-
|{{flagicon|EU}}{{flag|Romania}}
|139,100
|-
|{{flag|Ivory Coast}}
|134,100
|- 
|{{flag|Senegal}}
|133,700
|-
|{{flagicon|EU}}{{flag|Belgium}}
|119,300
|-
|{{flagicon|EU}}{{flag|Germany}}
|113,900
|-
|{{flag|China}}
|105,400
|-
|{{flag|Cameroon}}
|98,800
|-
|{{flag|Haiti}}
|98,200
|-
|{{flag|Mali}}
|96,500
|-
|{{flag|Congo}}
|88,900
|- 
|{{flag|DR Congo}}
|87,700
|-
|{{flag|Mauritius}}
|85,100
|-
|{{flag|Madagascar}}
|85,100
|-
|{{flagicon|EU}}{{flag|Poland}}
|79,900
|-
|{{flag|Vietnam}}
|78,600
|-
|{{flag|Russia}}
|75,200
|- 
|{{flag|Serbia}}
|73,900
|-
|{{flag|Guinea}}
|69,600
|-
|{{flag|Brazil}}
|61,400
|-
|{{flag|Switzerland}}
|55,000
|-
|{{flag|Sri Lanka}}
|52,700
|-
|{{flag|Cambodia}}
|51,100
|-
|{{flag|Lebanon}}
|49,100
|-
|{{flag|India}}
|48,600
|-
|{{flag|Afghanistan}}
|44,700
|-
|{{flag|Syria}}
|41,700
|-
|{{flag|United States}}
|40,600
|-
|{{flag|Albania}}
|39,500
|-
|{{flag|Colombia}}
|38,100
|-
|{{flag|Moldova}}
|36,800
|-
|{{flag|Armenia}}
|36,000
|-
|{{flagicon|EU}}{{flag|Netherlands}}
|35,600
|-
|{{flag|Egypt}}
|31,900
|-
|{{flag|Laos}}
|31,900
|-
|{{flagicon|EU}}{{flag|Bulgaria}}
|31,700
|-
|{{flag|Cape Verde}}
|31,600
|-
|{{flag|Pakistan}}
|31,400
|-
|{{flag|Ukraine}}
|30,700
|-
|{{flag|Togo}}
|26,500
|-
|{{flag|Iran}}
|23,800
|-
|{{flag|Suriname}}
|21,500
|}

In 2004, a total of 140,033 people immigrated to France. Of them, 90,250 were from Africa and 13,710 from Europe.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.migrationinformation.org/datahub/countrydata/data.cfm|title=Migration Data Hub|website=Migrationinformation.org|access-date=1 September 2017}}</ref> In 2005, immigration levels fell slightly to 135,890.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.migrationpolicy.org/pubs/France_Elections050307.pdf|title=Immigration and the 2007 French Presidential Elections|website=Migrationpolicy.org|access-date=1 September 2017}}</ref> The [[European Union]] allows free movement between the member states. While the UK (along with Ireland and Sweden and non-EU members Norway and Switzerland) did not impose restrictions, France put in place controls to curb [[Eastern European]] migration.

As at 1 January 2006, [[INSEE]] estimated that there were 3.5 million foreigners living in metropolitan France. Two out of five foreigners are from Portugal, Algeria or Morocco. Thus, EU nationals immigrating to France account for 1.2 million people, and 1.1 million people are from the three Maghreb countries of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia. Immigrants are concentrated in Île-de-France, Rhone-Alpes, Provence and Côte d'Azur regions, accounting for 60% of the total immigrant population. Furthermore, there appears to be a lower rate of immigrants arriving from the EU since 1975 as opposed to an increase in African immigrants.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://immigration.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/IM10popetrangere06.pdf|date=27 November 2010|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101127000256/http://immigration.gouv.fr/IMG/pdf/IM10popetrangere06.pdf|archive-date=27 November 2010|title=Infos migrations}}</ref>

In the first decade of the 21st century, the net migration rate was estimated to be 0.66 migrants per 1,000 population a year.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/france/|title=CIA – The World Factbook|website=Cia.gov|access-date=1 September 2017}}</ref> This is a very low rate of immigration compared to other European countries, the United States or Canada. Since the beginning of the 1990s, France has been attempting to curb immigration, first with the [[Charles Pasqua|Pasqua laws]], followed by both right-wing and socialist-issued laws. This trend is also demonstrated in anti-immigrant sentiments among the public. For example, the [[Pew Research Center]] in Washington, D.C. conducted a public opinion poll in February 2004 among French nationals. This poll measured the extent of support for restricting immigration among French nationals, by age cohort. 24% of individuals 18 to 29 were restricting immigration, with 33% of individuals 30 to 49 and 53% for both 50 to 64 and 65 and over.<ref>Schain, Martin A., ''The politics of immigration in France, Britain, and the United States, a comparative study'', Palgrave Macmillan, New York, New York, 2008, 329 pages, page 9</ref> Nearly nine years later, a January 2013 poll conducted in France by [[Ipsos]] found that 70% of respondents said that there were "too many immigrants in France".<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.lemonde.fr/politique/article/2013/01/24/les-crispations-alarmantes-de-la-societe-francaise_1821655_823448.html|title=Les crispations alarmantes de la société française|first=Gérard|last=Courtois|date=24 January 2013|newspaper=Le Monde.fr|access-date=1 September 2017}}</ref>

The immigration rate is currently lower than in other European countries such as United Kingdom and Spain; however, some say it is unlikely that the policies in themselves account for such a change. Again, as in the 1920s and 1930s, France stands in contrast with the rest of Europe. Back in the 1920s and 1930s, when other European countries had a high fertility rate, France had a low fertility rate and opened its doors to immigration to avoid a population decline. Today, it is the rest of Europe that has very low fertility rates, and countries like Germany or Spain avoid population decline only through immigration. In France, however, the fertility rate is still fairly high for European standards. It is, in fact, the highest in Europe after Ireland (the EU) and Albania (perhaps higher than Ireland's) and so most population growth is due to natural increase, unlike in the other European countries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.insee.fr/fr/themes/tableau.asp?reg_id=98&ref_id=CMPTEF02215|title=Résultats de la recherche – Insee|website=Insee.fr|access-date=1 September 2017}}</ref>

The difference in immigration trends is also because the labour market in France is currently less dynamic than in other countries such as the UK, Ireland or Spain. One reason for this could be France's relatively high unemployment, which the country has struggled to reduce for the past two decades. There is also a parallel dynamic between immigration and unemployment. Immigrants tend to be subjected to higher rates of unemployment. In 2008, the immigrant unemployment rate in France was a startling 13%, twice as high as for the national population (6%).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.insee.fr/fr/themes/tableau.asp?reg_id=0&ref_id=NATnon03346|title=Résultats de la recherche – Insee|website=Insee.fr|access-date=1 September 2017}}</ref> One can further analyse the trend in relation to education. In the ministry's 2010 report on professional inclusion for immigrants, 19.6% of immigrants without any education were unemployed while 16.1% of immigrants who had graduated high school were unemployed. Only 11.4% of immigrants with an undergraduate degree or higher were unemployed.<ref name=autogenerated2>{{cite web|url=http://ec.europa.eu/ewsi/en/info_sheet.cfm?ID_CSHEET=48|title=European Web Site on Integration – European Commission|website=Ec.europa.eu|access-date=1 September 2017}}</ref>

For example, according to the UK [[Office for National Statistics]], between July 2001 and July 2004, the population of the UK increased by 721,500 inhabitants, of which 242,800 (34%) was due to natural increase, 478,500 (66%) to immigration.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.statistics.gov.uk/cci/nugget.asp?ID=950|title=Home – Office for National Statistics|website=Statistics.gov.uk|access-date=1 September 2017}}</ref> According to the [[INSEE]], between January 2001 and January 2004 the population of [[Metropolitan France]] increased by 1,057,000 inhabitants of which 678,000 (64%) was due to natural increase, 379,500 (36%) from immigration.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.insee.fr/fr/ffc/docs_ffc/IP1000.pdf|title=Insee − Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques|website=Insee.fr|access-date=1 September 2017}}</ref>

The latest 2008 demographic statistics have been released, and France's [[birth rate|birth]] and [[fertility rates]] have continued to rise. The fertility rate increased to 2.01 in 2012<ref name=fertility /> and, for the first time, surpasses the fertility rate of the United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.insee.fr/fr/themes/tableau.asp?reg_id=0&ref_id=NATTEF02232|title=Résultats de la recherche – Insee|website=Insee.fr|access-date=1 September 2017}}</ref>

====North and South Americans in France====
Americans total more than 100,000<ref>[[Embassy of the United States, Paris]]</ref> permanent residents in France, Canadians 11,931,<ref>[http://www.asiapacific.ca/sites/default/files/canadians_abroad_final.pdf Canadians abroad] Asiapacific.ca</ref> followed by Latin Americans, a growing subgroup, the most numerous of which are Brazilians, at 44,622,<ref>[http://www.brasileirosnomundo.itamaraty.gov.br/a-comunidade/estimativas-populacionais-das-comunidades/APENDICE%20Diplomacia%20Consular%20-%20Brasileiros%20no%20Mundo.pdf APÊNDICE: NÚMERO E DISTRIBUIÇÃO DE BRASILEIROS NO MUNDO] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150528130638/http://www.brasileirosnomundo.itamaraty.gov.br/a-comunidade/estimativas-populacionais-das-comunidades/APENDICE%20Diplomacia%20Consular%20-%20Brasileiros%20no%20Mundo.pdf |date=28 May 2015 }} Brasileirosnomundo.itamaraty.gov.br</ref> followed by Colombians, at 40,000, Venezuelans, at 30,000,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ultimasnoticias.com.ve/infografias/venezolanos-en-el-exterior.aspx|title=Últimas Noticias|website=Últimas Noticias|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141205105710/http://www.ultimasnoticias.com.ve/infografias/venezolanos-en-el-exterior.aspx|archive-date=5 December 2014}}</ref> Peruvians, at 22,002,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.inei.gob.pe/|title=PERÚ Instituto Nacional de Estadística e Informática|website=Inei.gob.pe|access-date=1 September 2017|archive-date=12 April 1997|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19970412040139/http://www.inei.gob.pe/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Argentineans, at 11,899,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iom.int/files/live/sites/iom/files/pbn/docs/Perfil-Migratorio-de-argentina-2012.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=2 March 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140704090804/http://www.iom.int/files/live/sites/iom/files/pbn/docs/Perfil-Migratorio-de-argentina-2012.pdf |archive-date=4 July 2014  }}</ref> and Chileans, 15,782.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aerchipro.com/pdf/48_Registro_de_Chilenos_en_el_Exterior_2003-2004.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=26 June 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626120706/http://www.aerchipro.com/pdf/48_Registro_de_Chilenos_en_el_Exterior_2003-2004.pdf |archive-date=26 June 2015  }}</ref>

====Europeans in France====
In 2014 The National Institute of Statistics (INSEE, for its acronym in French) published a study, according to which has doubled the number of Spanish immigrants, Portuguese and Italians in France between 2009 and 2012.

According to the French Institute, the increase resulting from the financial crisis that hit several European countries in that period, has pushed up the number of Europeans installed in France.<ref name="sudouest.fr"/>
Statistics on Spanish immigrants in France show a growth of 107 percent between 2009 and 2012, i.e. in this period went from 5300 to 11,000 people.<ref name="20minutos.es">{{cite web|url=http://www.20minutos.es/noticia/2309684/0/inmigrantes-espanoles/en-francia-duplicado/con-la-crisis|title=El número de inmigrantes españoles en Francia se ha duplicado con la crisis|website=20minutos.es|date=28 November 2014 |access-date=1 September 2017}}</ref>

Of the total of 229,000 foreigners in France in 2012, nearly 8% were Portuguese, British 5%,<ref name="sudouest.fr"/> Spanish 5%, Italians 4%, Germans 4%, Romanians 3%, 3% Belgians.<ref name="sudouest.fr"/>

With the increase of Spanish, Portuguese and Italian in France, the weight of European immigrants arrived in 2012 to 46 percent, while this percentage for African reached 30%, with a presence in Morocco (7%), Algeria (7%) and Tunisia (3%).

Meanwhile, 14% of all immigrants who settled in France that year were from Asian countries: 3% of China and 2% in Turkey, while in America and Oceania constitute 10% of Americans and Brazilians accounted for higher percentage, 2% each.<ref name="sudouest.fr"/>

====Maghrebis in France====
People of [[Maghrebis|Maghrebi]] origin form the largest ethnic group in the country after those of European origin.

According to {{ill|Michèle Tribalat|fr}}, a researcher at [[Institut national d'études démographiques|INED]], there were 3.5 million people of Maghrebi origin (with at least one grandparent from Algeria, Morocco or Tunisia) living in France in 2005 corresponding to 5.8% of the total French metropolitan population (60.7 million in 2005).<ref>Michèle Tribalat, [http://eps.revues.org/index3657.html " Mariages " mixtes " et immigration en France "], Espace populations sociétés, 2009/2 | 2009, mis en ligne le 01 avril 2011</ref> Maghrebis have settled mainly in the industrial regions in France, especially in the [[Île-de-France (region)|Paris region]]. Many famous French people like [[Edith Piaf]],<ref>Carolyn Burke. ''No Regrets: The Life of Edith Piaf'', Bloomsbury Publishing, 2011, [https://books.google.com/books?id=RNKhl9_rm_EC&pg=PA5 p.5]</ref> [[Isabelle Adjani]], [[Arnaud Montebourg]], [[Alain Bashung]], [[Dany Boon]] and many others have Maghrebi ancestry.

Below is a table of population of Maghrebi origin in France, numbers are in thousands:

{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed" style="text-align:center; font-size: 90%"
|-
! Country
! 1999
! 2005
! % 1999/2005
! % French population (60.7 million in 2005)
|-
| '''Algeria'''||'''1,577'''||'''1,865'''||'''+18.3%'''||'''3.1%'''
|-
| Immigrants||574||679||||
|-
| Born in France||1,003||1,186||||
|-
| '''Morocco'''||'''1,005'''||'''1,201'''||'''+19.5%'''||'''2.0%'''
|-
| Immigrants||523||625||||
|-
|  Born in France||482||576||||
|-
| '''Tunisia'''||'''417'''||'''458'''||'''+9.8%'''||'''0.8%'''
|-
| Immigrants||202||222||||
|-
|  Born in France||215||236||||
|-
| '''Total Maghreb'''||'''2,999'''||'''3,524'''||'''+17.5%'''||'''5.8%'''
|-
| Immigrants||1 299||1 526||||2.5%
|-
|  Born in France||1 700||1 998||||3.3%
|}

In 2005, the percentage of young people under 18 of Maghrebi origin (at least one immigrant parent) was about 7% in [[Metropolitan France]], 12% in [[Île-de-France (region)|Greater Paris]] and above 20% in French département of [[Seine-Saint-Denis]].<ref>Michèle Tribalat, ''Revue Commentaire'', juin 2009, n°127</ref><ref>Michèle Tribalat, ''Les yeux grands fermés'', Denoël, 2010</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
!2005
![[Seine-Saint-Denis]]
![[Val-de-Marne]]
![[Val-d'Oise]]
![[Lyon]]
!Paris
!France
|-
|'''Total Maghreb''' 
|22.0%
|13.2%
|13.0%
|13.0%
|12.1%
|6.9%
|}

According to other sources, between 5 and 6 million people of Maghrebin origin live in France corresponding to about 7–9% of the total French metropolitan population.<ref>[[Robert Castel]], ''La discrimination négative'', Paris, La République des idées/Seuil, 2007</ref>

====Immigration policy====
As mentioned above, the [[French Ministry of Immigration, Integration, National Identity and Codevelopment]] was created immediately following the appointment of Nicolas Sarkozy as president of France in 2007. Immigration has been a relevant political dimension in France's agenda in recent years. Sarkozy's agenda has sharpened the focus placed on integration of immigrants living in France as well as their acquisition of national identity. The state of immigration policy in France is fourfold. Its pillars of immigration policy are to regulate migratory flows in and out of France, facilitate immigrants' integration and promote French identity, honor the French tradition's principle of welcoming political asylum and promote solidarity within the immigrant population (principle of co-development).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.immigration.gouv.fr/|title=Ministère de l'immigration, de l'intégration, de l'identité nationale et du codéveloppement|date=6 November 2008|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081106041745/http://www.immigration.gouv.fr/|archive-date=6 November 2008}}</ref> In its 2010 Budget report, the Ministry of Immigration declared it would fund €600 million for its immigration policy objectives, a figure representing 60 million more than in 2009 (otherwise an 11.5% increase from 2009 figures).<ref name=autogenerated2 />

In July 2006, President Sarkozy put into effect a law on immigration based upon the notion of "chosen immigration",<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.immigration.gouv.fr/spip.php?page=dossiers_det_imm&numrubrique=286&numarticle=1533|title=Immigration – IMMIG.FR|date=23 May 2009|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090523215609/http://www.immigration.gouv.fr/spip.php?page=dossiers_det_imm&numrubrique=286&numarticle=1533|archive-date=23 May 2009}}</ref> which allows immigration into France to a restricted field of employment sectors, notably the hotel and restaurant industries, construction and seasonal employment. The following summer of 2007, Sarkozy amended the law to require the acquisition of the French language as a pre-condition. According to Christophe Bertossi, immigration expert in France's [[Institut français des relations internationales]] (IFRI), "there is a dominant trend in the French policy to stem family migration, notably conditioned after the 2007 law by a minimum level of French language tested and by the demonstration that he/she endorses the main French constitutional principles".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ifri.org/?page=detail-contribution&id=5235&id_provenance=103&provenance_context_id=12|title=IFRI – Institut français des relations internationales|website=Ifri.org|access-date=1 September 2017}}</ref>

Despite Sarkozy's law,  immigration from former colonies in the Maghreb and West Africa would end up steadily increasing under the presidencies of [[Nicolas Sarkozy]], [[François Hollande]] and [[Emmanuel Macron]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cooper |first=Frederick |date=2018-01-24 |title=The Politics of Decolonization in French and British West Africa |url=https://oxfordre.com/africanhistory/view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.001.0001/acrefore-9780190277734-e-111 |access-date=2021-04-27 |website=Oxford Research Encyclopedia of African History |language=en |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.013.111 |isbn=9780190277734}}</ref>

France, along with other EU countries, have still not signed their agreement to the [[United Nations Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families]] of 1990.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.unesco.org/new/en/social-and-human-sciences/themes/social-transformations/international-migration/international-migration-convention/|title=International Migration Convention – United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization|website=Unesco.org|access-date=1 September 2017}}</ref> This convention is a treaty to protect migrant workers' rights, in recognition of their human rights.

Alternative policies have been discussed in formulating immigration policy, such as a quota system. At the beginning of 2008, as the government was rethinking its orientation on immigration policy with the creation of the new ministry, the idea of a quota system was introduced as a possible alternative. In early 2008, a proposal was made to Parliament to decide each year how many immigrants to accept, based on skill and origin. However, this quota policy contradicts the French Constitution. A commission was formed in February 2008 to study how the Constitution could be changed to allow for a quota system. The main difficulty is the origin principle of establishing a quota "constituting a breach in the universalistic ideology of the French Republic".<ref name=autogenerated1 />

On 18 January 2008, the government published a list of 150 job titles that were encountering difficult supply of labour.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.immigration.gouv.fr/spip.php?page=dossiers_det_imm&numrubrique=286&numarticle=1409|title=Immigration – IMMIG.FR|date=23 May 2009|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090523215557/http://www.immigration.gouv.fr/spip.php?page=dossiers_det_imm&numrubrique=286&numarticle=1409|archive-date=23 May 2009}}</ref> Most immigrants living in France today are reported to cover the following sectors: agriculture, service to persons in need (childcare, the elderly), construction, education, health and services to businesses.<ref>''Infos Migrations'', Number 14, February 2010</ref> Thus, the government is seeking to match immigrants with the economic makeup of France. The current administration could also seek to integrate migrants and their families through education and training, making them more competitive in the job market. To tackle critical labour shortages, France also decided to participate in the [[Blue Card (European Union)|EU Blue Card]].

Therefore, the outlook towards immigrants in France is shifting as unemployment continues to dominate the political agenda, along with political incentives to strengthen French national identity. Recent incidents, such as the [[2005 civil unrest in France|2005 civil unrest]] and [[French Romani repatriation|Romani repatriation]] have shed light on France's immigration policies and how these are viewed globally, especially in congruence or discontinuity with the EU. A longitudinal study has been conducted since March 2010 to provide qualitative research regarding the integration of new immigrants.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.immigration.gouv.fr/spip.php?page=dossiers_them_res&numrubrique=317|title=Ressources – IMMIG.FR|date=17 May 2009|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090517130410/http://www.immigration.gouv.fr/spip.php?page=dossiers_them_res&numrubrique=317|archive-date=17 May 2009}}</ref> The report is being finalized at the end of December 2010 and will be most relevant to provide insight into further immigration policy analysis for the French government.