Constance Rivière, General Manager of the Palais de la Porte Dorée, shares the challenges and key findings of the exclusive study carried out by Occurrence, to mark the opening of the new Musée de l’histoire de l’immigration.
1. Why did you choose to survey the “French on immigration” on this occasion?
There’s a big paradox: immigration is often talked about in France, but at the same time it’s not well known. To put it bluntly, we talk about it, but we don’t talk about it well. An object of fear, debate and often controversy, it is rarely seen as what it is: a constituent part of our shared history.
For the new permanent exhibition at the Musée national de l’histoire de l’immigration, we have opted for a long-term, chronological approach, with a richly artistic itinerary that includes 80% of previously unseen works, as well as a highly educational approach that will contribute to a better understanding of this history, which obviously sheds light on our present.
With this in mind, when the exhibition opened its doors to the general public, we decided to ask the French public a different set of questions about their relationship with immigration.
We wanted to understand how they view the subject, but also to gain a clearer picture of their objective knowledge and intimate links with immigrants or people of immigrant origin. What knowledge do our fellow citizens have of the reality of immigration in France today? How do they perceive migration in a historical or personal context? Is there a correlation between knowledge and perception on this sensitive subject?
To find out, we asked Occurrence (Ifop Group) to carry out this exclusive study, the results of which were unveiled the week before the opening of the new Museum.
2. What figures do you retain?
The survey shows that, overall, the French consider themselves poorly informed about immigration, and that the conditions are not ripe for a calm debate. In terms of knowledge, out of 1,000 people questioned, only one had the right answer to the six knowledge questions asked.
More importantly, the study shows that the lower (or even erroneous) the level of knowledge, the more people’s opinions are against immigration. To the statement “There are too many immigrants in France”, 62% of French people answer “yes”, but the “yes” rate rises to 73% for French people who are wrong on all six knowledge questions. To the statement “Immigration is an opportunity for France”: 47% of French people say yes, but only 32% of those who are wrong on the six knowledge questions. And finally, to the statement “France’s history has been partly shaped by immigration”: 66% of French people agree, but only 55% of those who are wrong on the six knowledge questions.
Another very important point: the survey shows that when you overcome your own prejudices or come into contact with immigrants in your inner circle (family, friends, colleagues), immigration is perceived more positively, discussions become more serene and all subjects can be tackled.
This is one of our missions: to cool down hot topics by providing sourced, quantified and verified information, so as to calm the debate by starting from the facts; and to warm up cold topics when certain facts, particularly historical ones, seem to have been forgotten or ignored in our national narrative.
3. To what extent can the results of this study guide your action?
Can a study heal, mend, repair…? Probably not. But by providing a reliable, balanced picture of French perceptions, it does help identify the common ground that is possible in France, and opens up a path of knowledge, and therefore hope. The survey shows that only 15% of those polled are opposed to immigration. This means that 85% are keen to learn more and to approach this issue, which is so fundamental to the life of our country, with serenity. Let me remind you of another figure, which is not included in this study, but which shows the extent to which immigration is part of French history: today, 1 in 3 French people is descended from immigrants over three generations.
More generally, the study reinforces our action, as it underlines the essential role of our institution: to make the history of immigration known to as many people as possible, to provide figures and objective data, and to dispassionate debate.
And it will also enable us to measure our action: the knowledge questions in the national survey will be put to our visitors after their visit to the museum. In this way, we’ll be able to see the extent to which the exhibition is actually contributing to the advancement of knowledge and a different view of immigration!
For more information on the study for the Palais de la Porte Dorée: visit their website