Les Chinois de Paris depuis le début du siècle. Présence urbaine et activités économiques

Abstract

The Evolution of the Urban Presence and the Economical Activities of the Chinese in Paris Yu-Sion LIVE The creation of enterprises by Chinese in Paris is an old phenomenon which goes back to the first moments of their immigration at the beginning of the XXth century. In the economic field, this immigration is characterized by the visibility of its presence in some neighbourhoods within the linguistic groups (Wenzhou, Qingtian, Cantonese, Shanghaians,...) are inclined towards reconstitute for carry on specific profession: trade of chinese trinkets, hawking of merchandises, chiropodist, catering trade, shop selling fancy, etc. This study apprehends the endogenous and/or exogenous factors susceptible to favour the expansion and/or the decline of the Chinese activities and of « Chinese » neighbourhoods, having something to do with the migratory flows. Writing our analysis (through the origin, the development and the issue of activities), we'll show that an ethnic economy doesn't live in a closed circuit and that its viability is sitting, in most cases, under the socio-cultural and economical influence of the global society or under some juridical measures regulating the trade of activities or even under Worldwide political events, etc. In the past, the extinction of market ofgoods and services led to the dislocation and/ or to the disappearance of Chinese professional activities in the Parisian neighbourhoods. Thus, the growth of the Chinese immigrant economy is not always linked with the growth of the Sino-French population. The small demographic size of an ethnic group is not inevitably a handicap to the extension of an ethnic economy.