Rousseau and the tensions of France'sContrat d'Accueil et d'Intégration

Abstract

The Contrat d'Accueil et d'Intégration is the keystone of France's revamped immigration paradigm aimed at integrating immigrants into French society and fostering social cohesion through adherence to a Rousseauian social contract. Because the use of the social contract as an immigration tool taps into an ideal (and thus flawed) philosophical tradition, it is important to move beyond the procedural mechanism and political implications to probe the deeper philosophical issues raised by grafting a Rousseauian social contract onto the immigration realm. From a Rousseauian perspective, discerning the nature of French republicanism is not a question of which paradigm-the traditional republican or the multicultural-has the better understanding of the fundamental values of modernity. Rather, what matters is how the French public views the scope of these values and whether the laws promulgated by the government in power reflect the general will of society as a whole. The contribution of this article lies in exposing the questions the immigrant contract raises regarding the power of the particular and/or general will, the problematic social patterns it engenders regarding the factionalization of society, and the tensions and trade-offs it creates regarding upholding the assimilationist paradigm, sentiments of inequality and fraternity, levels of social strife and definitions of national identity.

Liberal national identity: Thinner than conservative, thicker than civic?

“…None of these perspectives would thus allow us to see what we discovered in the previous section: that this stance could, somewhat unexpectedly, qualify as a conception of national identity in line with liberal nationalism, as long as the defenders of the ban were also willing to include Muslim voices in the public deliberation about the national identity, and to acknowledge the need to publically justify a potential ban to them as well. 9 Second, consider the French immigration contract that was made mandatory in 2006, as an explicit measure towards strengthening the national identity, and which suggests, at least on some interpretations, that a French citizen should revere the values of the French revolution of 1789 (Brunstetter, 2012). Since these values are often described as liberal and universal, Laegaard would probably call this a nationalisation of liberal values, and Mouritsen and Olsen a particularly French version of liberalism.…”

“…Second, consider the French immigration contract that was made mandatory in 2006, as an explicit measure towards strengthening the national identity, and which suggests, at least on some interpretations, that a French citizen should revere the values of the French revolution of 1789 (Brunstetter, 2012). Since these values are often described as liberal and universal, Laegaard would probably call this a nationalisation of liberal values, and Mouritsen and Olsen a particularly French version of liberalism.…”

Migration and the critique of ‘state thought’: Abdelmalek Sayad as a political theorist

“…But the objective and legalistic rhetoric of tests veils this moralization. The French case of the 'Republican Integration Contract' epitomizes this well (Boudou, 2018: 126-131;Boudou and Busekist, 2018;Brunstetter, 2012). Since such a contract cannot bind the state, and because foreigners who sign the contract cannot avoid subsequent arbitrary assessments of their 'proper' integration, this contract functions more like a symbolic oath.…”