Patterns of immigrant intermarriage in France: Intergenerational marital assimilation?

Abstract

Muster interethnischer Eheschliesungen von Immigranten in Frankreich: Intergenerationale Assimilation durch Eheschliesungen? Abstract: This article provides insight into immigrant in- termarriage in France. It describes trends of im- migrant marital behaviour between 1976 and 2000, compares intermarriage rates amongst dif- ferent immigrant groups and pays particular at- tention to changes in marital behaviour across immigrant generations. The statistical analyses take into account individual factors and contex- tual effects such as the sex-ratios and sizes of the groups in question. Based on data from the Echantillon demographique permanent (Perma- nent Demographic Sample, EDP) of the Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Econo- miques (INSEE), findings point to a stable trend of marital behaviour among immigrant men and women over time, sharp differences in intermar- riage rates among groups, and a significant change in the marital behaviour of second- generation immigrants, who intermarry much more often than their parents regardless of their origin.