Young Adults of Maghrebi Origin from the French Banlieues: Social Mobility in Action?

Abstract

A cohort of young French adults of Maghrebi origin, aged 20 to 29, who grew up in the same banlieue neighbourhood was constructed and used to observe their labour market integration. The biographical survey reviewed the pathways of these young men and women through the prism of social mobility. On the one hand, their parents' migration (from one of three Maghreb countries), low skills level and occupations are not conducive to upward social mobility; on the other, the expectation of integration, the aspiration to a better life, and education in French society are potentially positive factors. After describing the fieldwork conditions, the article presents the results as a typology comprising five types of occupational integration. These are compared with the parents' occupational status in order to define the form of social mobility. While some young adults have clearly experienced upward social mobility, others have not managed to find stable employment in the blue-collar category. This outcome can be attributed partly to the diversity of educational pathways. However, the analysis would not be complete without a discussion of the changes in the labour market, growing job insecurity and downclassing. These new trends, which affect the whole population, have a special resonance in a situation of urban segregation, generating new inequalities. The occupational statuses of these young adults highlight the deindustrialization that has taken place between their parents' generation and their own, constraining opportunities for social mobility.