Foreign Bodies in the Nation : The "Health Problem of Immigration" in France during the Interwar Period

Abstract

he 1920s in France were marked by the entry of hygienists into an ongoing debate on immigration among other experts recognised in the economic field. Here, “hygienists” were doctors specialized in the hygiene issue, who were working for a public administration and who publicised and diffused the “health problem of immigration” outside expert circles. Their commitment would contribute to eventually introducing the topic of migrants' health into the political arena. In the aftermath of the Great War, France had no immigration policy as such, public authorities reacted “on a case-to-case basis” under the pressure of influential groups associated with industrial and agricultural circles. The phenomenon admittedly went one by one before it receded under the effect of the economic crisis. In 1921, the population of France was 39.2 million. During the proceeding decade, immigration was particularly high in order to fill the gaps left by the Great War and to support the reconstruction effort. In 1931, 2.7 million foreigners, who came from Belgium, Poland, Italy and from the French colonies, particularly Algeria, accounted for 6.6% of the total population. With such figures France ranked second among the destination countries for immigrants after the UnitedStates. Up to 1931, migratory growth had accounted for three quarters of the total