ABSTRACT
Since 2015, some European cities have started to address the ‘migrant crisis’ themselves. They have chosen to take charge of the exiles’ reception problem, while denouncing the state and European wait-and-see attitudes. They have called themselves ‘refuge cities.’ Focusing on Paris and Barcelona’s cases, the present study aims to analyze their welcoming rhetorics, especially their use of moral values behind the ‘refuge-city’ label. The lexicometric analysis of local politics’ speeches shows that both cities have mobilized an important repertoire of words with high humanistic value, but each has emphasized different specific notions. It leads them to construct an ethical label which becomes an instrument of social mobilization to federate local actors within a collective entity. It also enables them to take positions in different national and international political arenas. Nevertheless, these rhetorics’ mobilizing capacities present some limits, as several local actors denounce a strategic use of humanistic values.
