| This historical analysis attempts to determine the extent to which changes in national education policies adopted between 1981 and 1995 under the socialist regime of Francois Mitterrand were designed to promote the integration of non white Third World immigrants into French society. It approaches this policy development from four interconnected perspectives: (1) the historical function of schools in inculcating the values of the French Republic; (2) the continuing discourse and debate involving the redefinition of citizenship and national identity; (3) the economic and political conditions and education resources and deficits of non-white Third World immigrants; and (4) the expectation that a socialist government would revive Republican egalitarianism and address the needs of immigrants and workers.; The central theme of this paper is the ambivalence of France towards immigrants who are non-white and non-Christian. The conflict between universalism and particularism, embedded in the French Revolution itself, is an enduring historical process for both the nation's populace and its elites as they continue to confront issues involving new immigrant populations, changing economies, and altered perceptions of nationhood in a global context.; Many of the Socialists's economic goals and policies were undermined by economic recessions and a move to the political right in the mid-1980s. But it is testimony to the tradition, stemming from the Revolution, embraced by both left and right, that schools are to be supported as the primary means of furthering assimilation into French culture. As a result, the Mitterrand government's education policies, especially their ambitious plan for "zones of educational priority" in areas of most need, received support of varying degrees from education ministers from different political parties. |
