ABSTRACT
The contrast evoked between perceived individualism and assumed universalism is not an isolated concept. The image of France is in fact made of a succession of binary constructs that have become a sort of trademark for the country. A discussion of the French identity therefore encompasses the taking into account of two closely intertwined facets: The progressive constitution of France's unity across the ages and the subterranean dimension of blending. Immigration to France in recent history is usually described in three periods, the first significant wave began during the Second Empire and lasted until the early years of the Third Republic. It is a commonplace to say that the history of the EU is actually mostly about the story of the reconciliation between France and Germany after one century of bloody wars. One of the major tasks facing France today is the realization of a form of reconciliation between the universal and the individual, the cosmopolitan and the regional.
