How Ethnic Mobilization Leads to Neighborhood Inclusion

Abstract

This article compares various collective actions carried out by ethnic Chinese residents against violence in their communities, and the negotiations these residents initiated with local authorities on this issue, in two suburbs of Paris, Aubervilliers and La Courneuve. Although French national policy toward immigrant minorities has been guided by the principle of “color-blindness,” some municipalities in the Paris region have gradually recognized the increasing diversity of their populations, and have incorporated the vocabulary of multiculturalism in their local governance. Consequently, the municipalities’ different approaches to identifying and coping with violence against Chinese residents vary according to how they perceive the diversity of local residents, and according to inter-ethnic relations in those areas. We consider that the different degrees of recognition with regard to Chinese communities within the two municipalities have affected the consequences of the Chinese residents’ collective actions, and their sense of inclusion in the cities where they live. Beyond the appearance of inter-ethnic conflicts, our comparative study demonstrates the intersectional cause of violence against the Chinese population—especially with regard to the disparities, both social and spatial, among Chinese residents themselves.