“Appeal to everyone of goodwill to organize settlement”: Relocalizing the migration issue and new mobilizations in rural settings

Special report. Local power and the working classes in rural settings
By Morane Chavanon
English

This article is based on a post-doctoral study of refugee settlement in rural areas, in the context of refugee policy reforms particularly focused on the spatial redistribution of migratory flows. The study consisted of ethnographic research among non-profit organizations and less formal groups in and around the town of Orlay that help people whose applications for refugee status were refused. Studying the local emergence of concern with migration, this article presents the interplay of scales that favors the development of new causes and new mobilizations in rural areas. It analyzes varied reactions of local political powers faced with the arrival of these new figures of poverty, making it possible to grasp the crossed logics of politicization and depoliticization. The article highlights how support for undocumented refugees contributes to the reconfiguration of the field of assistance in rural settings. Although housing seems to be a priority, settling people weakened by the ordeal of migration and being undocumented is a long-term process that re-defines relationships between solidarity networks and local political power.

  • migration
  • settlement
  • collective mobilization
  • rural mayors
  • politicization processes
  • renewal of assistance
  • new figures of poverty
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