The fourth Maghreb Forum
The islamists and the Maghreb integrationMarrakech, February 2013
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Maghrebis in Europe: do they form a homogeneous community?
Contribution by Dr Abbas Aroua
The Fourth Maghreb Forum
Hotel Al Andalous, Marrakech, 16–18 February 2013
Abstract
This contribution is not a research paper but a set of field observations by its author on the situation of the Maghrebi community in Europe, based on his residence on this continent over the past three decades. It puts forward the idea that ordinary members of the community are homogeneous in sharing the same sense of belonging and destiny and the same concerns and challenges, while some politicised elites are not, owing to the many contradictions they live with, which stem from disputes between countries of origin or between (ideological or ethnic) groups within a single country. The contribution addresses the numerical strength of the Maghrebi community in Europe, which reaches ten million – nearly 10% of the population of the Maghreb. In France alone there are six million inhabitants of Maghrebi origin, 10% of the country’s total population; yet this community remains neither active nor influential in French society, as it lacks the determinants of social standing, chiefly the two soft powers (economic and cultural) and the two hard powers (political and military). The contribution examines the social groups that make up the Maghrebi community and their differing concerns: workers who have arrived since the beginning of the twentieth century, the following generations, student missions who settle in European countries, political refugees, and economic refugees, or the so-called “harraga”. It also points to the subjective and objective factors that affect the community’s relationship with the homeland (the Greater Maghreb). Finally, it highlights the opportunities available to the Maghrebi community in Europe to accompany and support the political transformations under way in North Africa.
