The Role of Spanish Refugees in the Construction of the Migration Memory in France and Spain

Abstract

The FACEEF, the largest federation of Spanish associations in France, has been committed, for about 20 years, to a series of project to promote the memory of Spanish immigration in France. The FACEEF reflects the complexity of Spanish migration to France, made of intertwined political and economic migration waves. In consequence, its members are bearer of heterogeneous memories. How do the FACEEF officials deal with this heterogeneity? How can they weave together more or less coherent narratives and representations into a shared collective memory? The study highlights the key role of the political refugees who arrived in the 1950s and 1960s, and this, even if they form a minority in number within the FACEEF. The favourable political context in Spain also plays a role. The FACEEF elaborates a hybrid narrative that brings together the political and economic experiences of migration. In doing so, it creates a new representation of the Spanish migration as political-economic phenomenon.