The Securization of Migration in France The shifting threat of migration: From a threat to culture to a source of terrorism

Abstract

This paper seeks to assess how migration has become a matter of security in France. It will use securitization as a theoretical framework to explore how migration has become securitized in France over the past 25 years, and argue that migration has shifted from a perceived threat to societal and cultural security to a more traditional threat to security, specifically in the form of terrorism. It argues that the Syrian refugee crisis and recent terrorist attacks in France have shifted the securitization of migration from being presented as a threat to domestic culture to a traditional national security threat. Broadly, this paper will look at the refugee crisis, terrorist attacks in France and the integration of minorities and how these issues contribute to the securitization of migration. By analyzing current events surrounding the refugee crisis in France and the securitizing power of French Laws and EU treaties, it is possible to see how pervasive the securitization of migration has become in contemporary France. This paper argues that migration has become securitized through political discourse, discourse in the media, and the practices of security and policing officials. Securitization of migration in France has resulted from failed integration of the large Muslim-majority immigrant population, riots in the banlieue and the communities’ unproven links to terrorism, recent terrorist attacks, and the Syrian refugee crisis. This paper finds that securitization in France is largely directed at the significant Muslim population living in the poor banlieue outside of major cities, and more recently the refugees arriving in Europe. Linking refugees and minority populations to a terrorist threat has negative implications for these communities, and this paper finds that often these linkages are based more on perception than reality. The paper concludes that societal issues in France need to be addressed beyond the scope of security.