The Political Inclusion of Pakistanis in British and French municipalities: A comparison of Oldham, Villiers le-Bel and Creil

Abstract

This article shall aim to probe the political inclusion of the Pakistani diasporas in France and in Great Britain. Over the recent years, diminishing voter turnouts in both countries have drawn renewed attention to the issues of the political participation and representation of minorities in mainstream political institutions, thus fuelling debates around the position occupied by women and other minorities in these same institutions. The Franco-British comparison serves to put these debates into perspective, and the study of Pakistanis on both sides of the English Channel reveals that British Pakistanis are well represented in the British political arena, notably at the local level, however their Pakistani counterparts in France are much less visible in French politics, even at the local level. While this differential presence in the respective political arenas appears to be correlated to contrasting migration histories and context-specific demographics (for instance, the British Pakistani population is much larger in size compared to Pakistanis in France), it is also embedded in the prevailing local political contexts. The study of one British city, Oldham, and two French suburban cities, Villiers-le-bel and Creil, serves to illustrate this perspective. Furthermore, it is already well established in the field of migration studies that in Western European countries and cities, candidates from minority backgrounds tend to face more obstacles – compared to traditional, ‘white’ candidates – whenever they stand elections. Looking closely at the political trajectories of various candidates in the cities under study, we set out to identify the impediments that they face first as candidates, then as elected representatives, or councillors. Hence, the aim of this research article is to demonstrate that some inherently discriminatory processes and exclusionary practices enable local political institutions to decelerate and hinder the political inclusion of minority candidates at the local level, blocking their path in a way that they can be kept off these same local bodies. Nonetheless, our research seems to suggest that the British political arena is far more receptive and inclusive for minorities, compared to the French political arena