ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with a brief historical perspective that aims at showing that individuals and communities have been migrating from one place to the other for a long time, and for different reasons. It presents one of the most important, although relatively recent impacts of the state on migration, i.e., the securitization of migration, which translates into considering migration as a threat, and sometimes, migrants as quasi-criminals, or at least, law-violating individuals. The French model of integration was violently questioned, both physically and rhetorically, as both sides of France were in disbelief regarding the reaction of the other side. Although such reactions did not mean there were no success stories among families of migrants, the rebellion revealed deep fractures within French society between different ethnic, religious and cultural groups. These three episodes portray some of the key dilemmas of migration in the contemporary world, comprising integration attempts, marginalization and violence.
