The

Île-de-France The Île-de-France (, ; literally "Isle of France") is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France. Centred on the capital Paris, it is located in the north-central part of the country and often called the ''Région parisienne'' (; en, Pa ...

is a magnet for immigrants, hosting one of the largest concentrations of immigrants in Europe. As of 2006, about 35% of people (4 million) living in the region were either immigrant (17%) or born to at least one immigrant parent (18%).. In 2020-2021, about 5 million people, or 41% of the population of Île-de-France, are either immigrants (21%) or have at least one immigrant parent (20%), these figures do not include French people born in

Overseas France Overseas France (french: France d'outre-mer) consists of 13 French-administered territories outside Europe, mostly the remains of the French colonial empire that chose to remain a part of the French state under various statuses after decoloni ...

and their direct descendants. If the region, primary seat of French political and economic power for centuries, has always attracted immigrants, modern immigration can be traced back to the second half of the 19th century when France emerged as an immigration destination with

Eastern European Jews The expression 'Eastern European Jewry' has two meanings. Its first meaning refers to the current political spheres of the Eastern European countries and its second meaning refers to the Jewish communities in Russia and Poland. The phrase 'Easte ...

fleeing persecutions, and Southern Europeans (mostly Italians) and

Belgians Belgians ( nl, Belgen; french: Belges; german: Belgier) are people identified with the Kingdom of Belgium, a federal state in Western Europe. As Belgium is a multinational state, this connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultur ...

seeking better economic conditions. During the first half of the 20th century, immigrants were mostly Europeans, but after

decolonisation Decolonization or decolonisation is the undoing of colonialism, the latter being the process whereby imperial nations establish and dominate foreign territories, often overseas. Some scholars of decolonization focus especially on independence m ...

, and during the French

post-war economic boom In Western usage, the phrase post-war era (or postwar era) usually refers to the time since the end of World War II. More broadly, a post-war period (or postwar period) is the interval immediately following the end of a war. A post-war period c ...

, many immigrants came from former

French colonies From the 16th to the 17th centuries, the First French colonial empire stretched from a total area at its peak in 1680 to over , the second largest empire in the world at the time behind only the Spanish Empire. During the 19th and 20th centuri ...

(chiefly the Magreb and West Africa). At the 2010 census, 23.0% of the total population in the Île-de-France region were born outside of

Metropolitan France Metropolitan France (french: France métropolitaine or ''la Métropole''), also known as European France (french: Territoire européen de la France) is the area of France which is geographically in Europe. This collective name for the European ...

, up from 19.7% at the 1999 census. Among these people born outside Metropolitan France, 1,611,989 were immigrants (see definition below the table), making up 14.7% of the region's total population. INSEE estimated that on 1 January 2005, the number of immigrants in the region had reached 1,916,000, making up 16.7% of its total population. This is an increase of 304,000 immigrants in slightly less than six years. According to a study in 2009, nearly 56% of all newborns in the region in 2007 had at least one parent originated from sub-Saharan Africa,

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

Maghreb The Maghreb (; ar, الْمَغْرِب, al-Maghrib, lit=the west), also known as the Arab Maghreb ( ar, المغرب العربي) and Northwest Africa, is the western part of North Africa and the Arab world. The region includes Algeria, ...

or Overseas departments and territories of France.

People under 18 of foreign origin

In 2005, 37% of young people under 18 were of foreign origin (at least one immigrant parent) in Île-de-France, including a quarter of African origin (

and sub-Saharan Africa). People under 18 of

Maghrebi Maghrebi Arabic (, Western Arabic; as opposed to Eastern or Mashriqi Arabic) is a vernacular Arabic dialect continuum spoken in the Maghreb region, in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Western Sahara, and Mauritania. It includes Moroccan, Alge ...

sub-Saharan Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the African co ...

and Turkish origin became a majority in several cities of the region (

Clichy-sous-Bois Clichy-sous-Bois () is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from central Paris.Mantes-la-Jolie Mantes-la-Jolie (, often informally called Mantes) is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region of north-central France. It is located to the west of Paris, from the centre of the capital. Mantes-la-Jolie is a subprefe ...

, Grigny, Saint-Denis,

Les Mureaux Les Mureaux () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the north-western suburbs of Paris, from the centre of Paris. Population Transport Les Mureaux is served by Les ...

, Saint-Ouen,

Sarcelles Sarcelles () is a commune in the northern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Sarcelles is a sub-prefecture of the Val-d'Oise department and the seat of the arrondissement of Sarcelles. In the south of the commune ...

Pierrefitte-sur-Seine Pierrefitte-sur-Seine (, literally ''Pierrefitte on Seine'') is a commune in the Seine-Saint-Denis department and Île-de-France region of France. Today forming part of the northern suburbs of Paris, Pierrefitte lies from the centre of the Fre ...

Garges-lès-Gonesse Garges-lès-Gonesse (, literally ''Garges near Gonesse'') is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department in northern France. It is located in the northern suburbs of Paris, from the center of Paris. The city is a part of the Paris urban area. It is ...

Aubervilliers Aubervilliers () is a commune in the Seine-Saint-Denis department, Île-de-France region, northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Albertivillariens'' or ''Albertivillariennes''. Geography Localisati ...

Stains A stain is an unwanted localized discoloration, often in fabrics or textiles. Stain(s) or The Stain(s) may also refer to: Color * Stain (heraldry), a non-standard tincture * Staining, in biology, a technique used to highlight contrast in samples ...

Gennevilliers Gennevilliers () is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine department of Île-de-France. It is located from the centre of Paris. In 2017, it had a population of 46,907. History On 9 April 1929, one-fifth of the ...

Épinay-sur-Seine Épinay-sur-Seine (, literally ''Épinay on Seine'') is a commune in the northern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. The church of Notre-Dame-des-Missions-du-cygne d'Enghien, designed by Paul Tournon, may be fo ...

). Young people of Maghrebi origin comprised about 12% of the population of the region, 22% of that of

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety ...

of the

Seine-Saint-Denis () is a department of France located in the Grand Paris metropolis in the region. In French, it is often referred to colloquially as ' or ' ("ninety-three" or "nine three"), after its official administrative number, 93. Its prefecture is Bobig ...

district, and 37% of the 18th arrondissement of Paris. In Grigny, 31% of young people are of sub-Saharan origin In the département of

(population 1.5 million), 56.7% of people under 18 are of foreign origin, including 38% of African origin. Islam is the main religion.Michèle Tribalat,
Michèle Tribalat : "L'islam reste une menace"
',

Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...

, 13 octobre 2011

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:Immigration in Ile-de-France Immigration to France