Sub-Saharan Migrations to Europe during the Three Last Decades

Abstract

Migrations from Sub-Saharan Africa to Europe are recent. Slave trade organized by Europeans to the America created some possibilities of settlement in Europe between the sixteenth and the nineteenth centuries for Black African persons, but the phenomenon was marginal. Migratory flow really begins in the twentieth century. Colonial troops arrived in France to take part in the battles of the First World War. After this first experience, voluntary migrations were organized by some communities of West Africa to some harbors in France. In the sixties, the phenomenon increased but concerned only men whose purpose was to come back rapidly at home with their savings. Little by little, different European countries were concerned by the immigration of women and families coming from all parts of Africa. This article aims to describe and analyze the transformations of the migratory flows and the ways of integration in the receiving societies with cases concerning mainly France and the UK.

1. Introduction

In this text, we will examine the global processes of African migration during the three last decades (from 1990 to 2020). We will start with a historical background concerning migrations in the south of the Sahara. The internal migrations in this region have always been very important and today almost 70% of the estimated 40,000,000 Sub-Saharan migrants are living in a foreign country of this area [1]. Only 15% of them are settled in Europe and the others are in North America and in the countries of the Persian Gulf. However, the fluxes of migrants toward Europe have strongly increased during the three last decades. After a presentation of the migrations in the Sub-Saharan area, we describe the different routes to Europe by land and sea, and the risks encountered by the migrants.

Then we analyze the particularities of migration in France, the European country the most concerned by this migration. We will also examine the demographics of African migration, including migration pathways, work, education, living conditions, familial, gender, faith, and settlement patterns. These trends in African migration will be analyzed alongside broader global trends within African diasporas. In this chapter, we use a methodology based on comparisons between quantitative data collected in different periods. This let appears the main changes in the fluxes of migrants and their profiles. The most relevant sources of data at a global level are produced by the IOM (International Organization of Migrations), depending on the UNO. Concerning France, the INED (National Institute for Demographic studies) realizes regularly important surveys about the different aspects of migratory fluxes and processes of integration. We complete this approach with references to qualitative research.

After his analysis of the evolution of the Sub-Saharan migrations in Europe, we will explore their future. Some arguments let think they will grow irresistibly. The reproduction rate in Sub-Saharan Africa is very high, while in Europe it is lower. Does it mean we will see in the next decades a rush of young African migrants toward old Europe? Will the people originated from Sub-Saharan represent 25% of the French population in 2050, as some statistic projections let foresee it [2]. However, if we consider different historical cases, we can conclude the growth of the population of a country did not provoke systematically a growth of the migrations outside. Europe remains far from Sub-Saharan Africa and difficult to reach because of the cost and the danger of the travel, and the administrative closing of the countries of the U.E. Besides, African continent gives large possibilities to migrate from a poor country to a more developed one. So, we will first analyze the evolution of internal migrations in the south of the Sahara.

2. Migrations in the south of Sahara

The history of African people living in the south of the Sahara is above all a history of migrations. A process of desertification in the Sahara began around 2000 years B.C.E and provoked the departure of black peasants living there for numerous centuries toward the grand rivers of Western Africa: Senegal, Niger, Volta…. At the same time, wandering groups of cows or camel breeders began to run over this immense desert and its surrounding regions.

From the Benoué tableland, in the border region of Cameroon and Nigeria, the ancestors of the Bantu rushed across the equatorial forest and arrived in the Australia savannah at a period corresponding to the European middle age. In Eastern Africa, we can also observe different flows of populations toward the high tablelands of Rwanda and Burundi and the regions of the grand lakes. Bantu agriculturists settled there around the eleventh century A.D.E and Ethiopian shepherds followed them some decades later.

These migrations populating little by little the different spaces of the continent continued until the twentieth century. Many ethnic groups of Sub-Saharan Africa have myths or legends telling precisely their arrival in their actual territory, underlining their relatively recent presence there. Different reasons explain the importance of migrations in Africa up to the contemporary era: the existence of vast under-inhabited places, the climate hazards, and the lack of agricultural techniques as fallow, allowing the regeneration of the fields, which let people leave lands quickly run dry and look for new soils to plow. The slave trade has also influenced the moving of the populations. The trade practiced by the Arabic countries and their African suppliers, such as the Kabaka and the King of Uganda, captured and sold around 17 million people in North Africa and in the Arabic peninsula from the middle age to the beginning of the twentieth century. During two centuries, the European traders transferred around 12 million Sub-Saharan persons to the America. In order to escape capture, many people might abandon their village and looked for refuge in mountains or in forests and other places difficult to reach. These forced migrations stopped in the first part of the twentieth century [3].

During the colonial period, migrations increased because of different reasons. Military troops were recruited among local populations and were moved from one country to another, in order to conquer new lands or to maintain the authority of colonial power. Economic migrations were organized by the administration from poor and overcrowded regions to plantations and mines, as in the case of the migration of Mossi people from poor Burkina to the rich plantations of Ivory Coast or from the villages of the former Northern Rhodesia to the mining towns of the “copper belt” [4].

During the years following the independence of African countries from the early to mid-1960s, the migrations became more controlled because of policies aiming to protect the national workers against the rivalry of foreigners. The rare countries, which had chosen a liberal way of development, continued to receive numerous migrants coming from the neighboring countries. It was particularly the case of South Africa in the period of apartheid which encouraged the arrival of foreign workers in order to develop mining and industrial activities and the case of the Ivory Coast which continued to receive workers coming from its poor surrounding countries, such as Mali and Burkina. But the majority of the governments preferred to close the frontiers and expel sometimes violently foreign residents who settled there during the colonial period.

During the 1960s, Marshall Mobutu evicted from Zaire thousands of Malian and Senegalese who were settled there in the time of Belgian Congo. Instead of going back to their countries of origin, these people preferred to join some of their fellow citizens working in France and this event amplified the flow toward this country [5].

In the 1980s, we can observe a general rerun of internal migrations and growing flows toward other continents. During this decade most African countries had a negative rate of economic growth. The Gross National Product remained low, while the global population increased by 3% in a year and the working population by 2,7% in a year. The individual middle income decreased by 25%. The economists used to name this period “the lost decade.” During the following decade, economic growth came back in certain regions. However, the global situation was still difficult. Under pressure from the International Monetary Fund, many African governments reduced strongly the number of public jobs. Many young graduates had no hope of finding employment. This fact influenced the behavior of younger pupils who abandoned studying and tried to work in order to survive. Their quest for jobs led them to move from their villages to the nearest towns, from little towns to important urban areas, from their home country to a less poor one, and from Africa to the outside.

3. The real beginning of migrations out of Africa

In the 1990s, political problems added to economic difficulties, provoking insecurity. Violent conflicts bursting in some countries caused a chain of dramatic consequences in the whole surrounding zone. From 1960 to 1990 Africa has already known 17 civil wars among the 43 registered in the world. In and after the 1990s, internal conflicts have been on the increase. In total, 27 countries among the 53 existing in the continent have known political violence between 1993 and 2002. The civil wars in Rwanda, Burundi, Liberia, and Sierra Leone added to those already existing for a long time in Angola, Mozambique, and Sudan.

The surrounding countries must receive populations running away from the struggles and the frontier zones become sometimes a place of folding back for troops of militants fighting against the neighboring government. Countries, such as Chad or the Central African Republic, suffer troubles linked to the civil conflicts devastating their neighbors Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Some states, such as Somalia, completely collapsed, giving the place to anarchy and insecurity. As a consequence of these conflicts, one can register today six million refugees in Africa and seventeen million displaced persons knowing very difficult conditions of life. So, the global situation in Africa can push many people to move to more peaceful and less poor places.

In spite of the high number of conflicts, the refugees represent only 13% of all the migrants in Africa (six million in 2020, according to Eurostat) [6]. The inside migrations are caused above all by economic factors. In this early twenty-first century, almost 17 million citizens of different countries in the south of the Sahara are living in a foreign land. It represents 3% of the global population of the continent, a rate slightly higher than the percentage of migrants referring to the whole world population. But the largest majority of them are living in a foreign African country. According to the world report about human development, dedicated in 2009 to migrations, only 2% of the migrants coming from the countries of Sub-Saharan Africa are living in a country member of the OECD. 1% of them are living in Europe. A country, such as Mali, which appears as a typical country of emigration, registers 92% of its migrants in other African countries, 5% in a European country, and 3% in an Asian country (UNO, 2009).

However, we can identify a key period explaining the development of Sub-Saharan migratory movements toward Europe. From the end of the 1980s to the beginning of the 1990s, fluxes intensified were renewed and diversified. Meanwhile, the member-states of the European Union undertook a legislative race to control the entry and residence of foreigners.

From the 1990s, demand for highly skilled workers from poor to rich countries has become a new dynamic, assisted by globalization and aging populations. Even women, who in the past remained at home, now take advantage of their better education and skills to migrate independently of men. Thus, female doctors, nurses, and teachers from Zimbabwe, Zambia, South Africa, Ghana, and Kenya, for example, have been recruited to work in Britain and Australia, quite often leaving their spouses and children behind (Koket & alii).

Migrants usually intend to return home on retirement and be buried among their ancestors. Thus, for example, many refugees voluntarily choose repatriation as soon as conditions back home return to normal. As part of the important process of keeping in contact with home, migrants regularly send money either to help sustain family members or pay for the building of a new house, purchase land for themselves or their relatives, or the education of family members. The formation of diasporas and home improvement associations together with the related individual or group financial remittances is another common feature of migrants. In this manner, migrants are able to keep alive links between themselves and their home country.

Probably the number of migrants inside Africa will continue to increase in the future. The statistic previsions expect that the African population being of an age to work will have an increase of 125% in 2050. At the same time, the evolutions would be + 26% in Latin America, +22% in Asia, and - 23% in Europe. So, the migrations to Europe that nowadays represent a little part of all the migrations from Sub-Saharan Africa will consequently continue to increase. However, a certain number of factors contribute to limit the growth of Sub-Saharan migration in Europe. One of the most important is linked to the difficulties to reach the European continent. Few Sub-Saharan citizens enjoy a Schengen visa, allowing them a legal arrival in a country belonging to this space. The majority of migrants often have to use an illegal way to enter Europe.

4. The routes to Europe

The routes leading from Sub-Saharan Africa to Europe, by land and sea, are all dangerous and the travel is expensive.

Indeed, the undocumented migration routes are highly relevant in the context of African migration systems to the EU. The following map shows the routes used by illegal African migrants to enter in the EU [7]. They are still active today.

The main departure points are:

• West coast of Africa: Northern Mauritania, Western Sahara, and southern Morocco from where most head for the Canary Islands.

• Northern Morocco to cross into Ceuta and Melilla or cross the straits to Spain.

• Tunisia and Libya for boats heading for Italy's islands of Lampedusa, Sicily, and Malta (BBC, 2007).

Since the death of Colonel Kadhafi in 2011, a big disorder exists in Libya and some migrants have been kidnapped by criminal groups and reduced to slavery [8]. According to the HCR, in 2021, 123000 persons tried to cross the Mediterranean Sea. Among them, 3231 died or disappeared.

It is difficult to know precisely the number of persons who died by crossing the desert and the sea to join Europe during the three last decades. According to the French NGO SOS Méditerranée, hundreds of thousands of migrants would be dead or disappeared since the creation of the Schengen system.

The policy of EU concerning migrations from Sub-Saharan Africa is above all repressive. The Frontex Agency intercept the boats loaded by illegal migrants and send them back to North Africa. Some North African countries, such as Morocco or Libya, are paid by EU to restrain the fluxes coming from the Sub-Saharan area. It is more difficult to expel undocumented migrants settled in Europe a long time ago. The question is politically sensitive. The fear of an invasion of Black African migrants is the favorite argument of many extreme-right-wing parties in the different European countries. However, the number of Sub-Saharan migrants in Europe increased slowly but constantly during the three last decades, and Black African diasporas are nowadays existing in Europe. It is particularly the case in France, the most concerned country by the Sub-Saharan migrations.

5. Sub-Saharan migrants in France

Migration to France from the African continent has been influenced by the ties linked during the colonial period. Today around 85% of the Sub-Saharan migrants settled in France come from a former French colony. The first important migration flows took place during the colonial period. At that time, the African countries ruled by France were organized into three federations: French Western Africa, French Central Africa, and the French territories in the Indian Ocean. Some sailors employed by the French merchant navy had the opportunity to come and work in Marseille and other harbors, but the main flows were organized by public authorities because of military motives.

During the First World War, 161000 men from the French colonies of Sub-Saharan Africa were enlisted in infantry in order to come and fight in Europe. 30000 of them died on the battle fields or in military hospitals, often because of tuberculosis. Some of these soldiers remained in France after the war and created associations and newspapers to claim French citizenship and racial equality because of the “blood debt” contracted by France toward the natives of the colonies. They were joined by students and intellectuals, such as Leopold Senghor from Senegal and Aimé Césaire from Martinique, who developed the concept of “negritude,” affirming both the originality of the black civilizations and a desire for political equality inside the French Republic. After the Second World War, the number of African students in France increased. Those supporting independence become more numerous than those claiming political assimilation. The main part of African politicians who came into power in the sixties had studied and militated in Paris before [9].

After the independence, in the 1960s, migration of workers began to grow in the harbors of Marseille and Le Havre and in the Paris region. Most of them came from the Senegal River Valley and were citizens of Mali, Senegal, and Mauritania. Belonging to ethnic groups, such as Peul and Soninké, they were often illiterate and unskilled. One other group came from the Comoros archipelago in the Indian Ocean. In Paris, they worked as street cleaners and garbage men and in the ports; they were dock workers. They organized them as communities of single men living often in old and damaged housing or in homes for celibates managed by humanitarian associations [10]. The main causes of this migration were economic. On one hand, the Senegal River Valley was a particularly poor area affected by dryness. On the other hand, during these years of exceptional prosperity, the French economy had important needs for unskilled workers and the African migrants were welcome. A system of rotation was organized by the communities allowing a certain number of men to be in their native countries dealing with their domestic problems, while their parents were in France, earning money and sending important sums to the villages [11].

This system was thwarted by a decision of the French government taken in 1974. Economic immigration was suspended with a few exceptions concerning some specific sectors of activity. So, the immigrants could not spend more than two months in their countries of origin else they risked to lose their right to stay in France. The increase in unemployment pushed also them to abandon the rotation system and the long time stays in their villages among their families. Many men decided consequently to let their wives and children join them in France.

6. Main changes in the fluxes during the 1990s

The profile of the Sub-Saharan population in France began to change at the end of the 1970s. The families became more numerous than single men. They encountered also many problems. Polygamy was frequent and the number of children was often very high, provoking difficulties in housing and scholarship. The pursuit in France of some traditions, such as excision, contributes to let these people appear as very difficult to integrate. Different laws were promoted in the 1990s to discourage this migration, without real success. The flows continued illegally.

At the same time, we assist in the development of migration of asylum seekers coming above all from central Africa, Angola, Congo, and Zaire (actually the Democratic Republic of Congo). These countries were concerned by civil wars, such as Angola, for a long time. Others, as the Former French Congo, were concerned by brief but violent troubles during the 1990s. The former Zaïre after the end of the dictatorship of Marshall Mobutu was affected by important disorders in its eastern provinces because of the rivalry between uncontrolled militias terrorizing civil populations.

A large number of people tried to flee these countries and organize illegal travels toward Europe, wherein they hope to obtain asylum. Some of these asylum seekers were really victims of political prosecution but many of them used this procedure because the other legal means to enter France became more and more restricted. Finally, a relatively low percentage of Sub-Saharan asylum seekers obtained the status of political refugee. For instance, in 2009, among 5780 asylum seekers coming from Africa were registered by the French Office for Refugees and stateless persons, 1952 (33%) have gained the status of political refugee. Many asylum seekers who have been dismissed stay in France illegally. Today, many African migrants are undocumented in France since a relatively long time. Some of them have finally obtained legal documents according to different reasons: illness, familial links, and prove of integration. It is impossible to know exactly how many African migrants are illegal but their number is probably significant. At the end of the 1990s, the number of Sub-Saharan migrants considerably increased; mainly because of the arrival of women and families. They were 393 289 according to the census of 1999, while they were 182 479 in 1990. In 2010 they were 705 388, and in 2019 they were 1 031749. So, the growth of the migrants coming from this area essentially took place during the three last decades. They appear nowadays as a young population with a high percentage of children and young persons. Children under 15 years represent 56,8% of the Sub-Saharan group versus 32,5% of all migrants. Young persons from 15 to 24 represent 21,5% of this group versus 15,1% of all the migrants. One counts also an important number of grandchildren born in France and enjoying French citizenship: 929000 [12]. The question of their integration into European society is an important one.

7. Main characteristics of Sub-Saharan migration in France

It should be noted that despite their recent increase, immigrants from Sub-Saharan Africa only represent 11.63% of the total immigrant population. No country in sub-Saharan Africa has reached 100 000 citizens. The nation with the largest figure, Senegal, comes far behind the various nations of North Africa, Europe, and Asia [13].

7.1 Gender

The immigrant population of sub-Saharan Africans in France is notable for feminization and for becoming younger. The arrival of families after 1975 has contributed to a rapid rise in natives of African nations present in France. The clearest sign of the establishment of the kind of family patterns typical among African immigrants is the increase in the number of women, in total number, and as a percentage. Until 1975, the number of women was very low. In 1982, they numbered 62 172, 36.17% of the population. In 1990, this number had reached 117 382, 42.66% of the total Sub-Saharan African population. By 1999, they numbered 187 444 or 46.7%, and in 2019 they are 523340 representing 50,7%. Concerning African nations formerly under French rule, for whom there are more detailed figures, more women came to France than men between 1990 and 1999: 45648 women compared to 36129 men. The available figures also attest to the importance of young people. 21 326 people under the age of 19 came to France between 1990 and 1999, 26% of the total arriving in this period. Under 15s numbered 13 016, 15.9% of the total. The importance lies with adolescents rather than children. There have also been a lot of young adults, including many women: 12049 people aged 20–24 entering the country, of whom 7 098 were women, 15 499 people aged 25–29, 9 468 of them women, and 14 138 people aged 30–34, of whom 8 102 were women. Beyond these age brackets, the figures are less significant. The increase in the African population of France is therefore due mainly to the arrival of young people who give immigration a more family-oriented profile. People entering under family reunion laws are not of much significance: 1000–2000 per year on average since 1990. Most new arrivals are therefore either newly-arrived families, or most often adults or children and adolescents arriving individually. Thus, the recent increase in African immigrants is due principally to the arrival of young adults and adolescents, many of whom are women. We are looking mainly then at a new population, one that was under-represented until now and which is changing the face of African immigration. The feminization of Sub-Saharan African immigration reflects the wider progression of the immigrant population which is marked by its equal numbers of men and women in 2019.

7.2 Nationalities

All nations of the African continent are represented in France today. This is not new, as the range has always been very wide. What is new, is the considerable increase in numbers coming from countries previously very underrepresented. People coming from the Congo, who numbered 8 492 in 1982, numbered 35 449 in 1999, and in the third position just after Mali. People coming from the Ivory Coast went from 12 072 in 1982 to 29 885 in 1999. Natives of Madagascar numbered 10 940 in 1982. This number rose to 28 220 in 1999. These three countries have experienced very difficult situations in recent years. The Congo has suffered two civil wars, in 1993 and 1997. Its geographical proximity to two countries with long-term troubled histories, Angola and Zaire, has also had an effect on the flow of departures. The Ivory Coast, despite a satisfactory economic situation, has for some years seen an increase in tensions between the populations of the north and the south, and hardening of antagonism between “authentic” Ivorians and descendants of immigrants. Madagascar, whose economy has been battered by Didier Ratsiraka’s collectivizing experiments, has known political tensions for a long time, which threaten to slide the country into civil war.

The proportion of people who have acquired French nationality is higher in four groups: 26.65% from the Congo, 33.86% of people from Cameroon, 35.78% for people from the Ivory Coast, and 65.09% of people from Madagascar. For the total immigrant population from the African continent, the percentage of French people “by acquisition” is 30.16%. We find a higher percentage of people who gained French nationality amongst the groups where women are more numerous. This coincidence is particularly clear amongst people from Madagascar.

What are the factors that explain the similarities between these diverse populations? All of them come from countries that have known or are currently in conflict situations. They also come from countries where the French used to have a strong presence, which explains the strong tendency for people to acquire French nationality. Finally, from a cultural perspective, all these countries of origin are notable for systems of family organization that attribute an important economic role to women. Given the fairly high levels of schooling that you find in these countries, it is probable that a certain number of men and women have student status or held one on arrival in France.

7.3 Faith

France being a secular state, no sociodemographic survey can ask people about their religion. It is, therefore, not possible to know precisely the religions of African immigrants in France. All the same, we can attribute religions based on the dominant religion in their country of origin. The majority of people from West Africa are Muslim. We can regard a near totality of Malians and Mauritanians to be Muslim. In Senegal, we have counted an ethnic minority, the Manjak, as Catholic. Comorians are all Muslim. The majority of people from central Africa; Congo, ex-Zaire, and Cameroon, are Christian. The same goes for the Ivory Coast, Benin, and Togo. It is of course a matter of “sociological” membership of these religions. We have no way of measuring conviction or regularity of practice. Muslims from Africa, the Indian Ocean, and the Caribbean are represented in the CFCM (Muslim Council of France) but only play a limited role due to their numerical inferiority to North Africans and Turks.

Amongst Christians, we have seen the vibrant success of evangelical churches and social networks based around places of worship. The belonging to Catholicism, still the main religion present in France, does not appear as a factor facilitating integration [14]. French Catholics are generally old persons with conservative opinions, while African believers are young and open-minded. In Africa, people like music and create a joyful atmosphere during the masses. In France, they think the ambiance of the mass is sad and mournful.

So, they rarely pray with French believers in the same church.

7.4 Location and way of life

Despite the changes that they have been concerned with over the last decade, the immigrant population of Sub-Saharan Africa remains massively centered around the Paris region at a rate of 65.4%, (percentage of the whole immigrant population in this region: 39.6%). Their presence in other regions is low: 4.88% in PACA (Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur), 4.31% in Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes, and 3.69% in Haute Normandie. The vast majority of African immigrants live in urban areas, and 160 118, 58% of the total, live in Greater Paris, that is to say, inner Paris itself and the three surrounding urban departments making up the “little crown”: Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis, and Val-de-Marne. On a national level, the proportion of people living in suburbs is greater than that living in city centers (56.96% over 43.04%). The strong representation of African immigrants in city centers is not synonymous with affluence though. They often occupy the most run-down buildings that still exist in city centers, in particular in Paris. Because of their high numbers in heavily urbanized areas, African immigrants live in communal buildings in very large numbers. Households living in makeshift abodes are now a rarity. However, many are still badly housed: 4 085 households, 3.46% of the total, live in places with no mod cons, and 1.29% of homes have a very low standard of conveniences. All the national groups are affected by these problems at a fairly similar level. The percentage of owned properties is very low: 10.13% (31.88% overall for immigrant homes). There is a different distribution of owned properties according to country of origin. Mauritians, Malagasies, and Cameroonians are much more often owners of their own property than Malians and ex-Zaireans. The majority of tenants are in the private sector (55.93%). This varies according to the country of origin. Malians, Senegalese, and Congolese are more likely to live in HLMs (council blocks) than in privately rented properties. For all other national groups, it is the other way around.

In general, Sub-Saharan African immigrants live in conditions below the average for immigrant homes.

7.5 Education and employment

Families of African immigrants have more children than the average for the wider immigrant population. They stand out for their high instances of single-parent families: 11% over 7.5% of all immigrant homes, and 6.6% for all homes in France. According to the 2019 census, 30% of the Sub-Saharan households are headed by a single parent, a woman generally. Polygamous homes are most common amongst the population of Mali and Senegal. Since the passing of laws on family regrouping in 1993, it is forbidden for heads of polygamous families to live in France with more than one of their wives. In reality, polygamy persists, but the number of polygamous homes is difficult to evaluate.

According to the last census, Sub-Saharan Africans are employed mostly as non-qualified workers, particularly service personnel. They fall slightly below the average amongst manual workers, and well below average amongst shopkeepers/business owners. We see slightly below average proportions amongst the higher, intellectual professions, and average proportions in the intermediate professions. This suggests a relatively higher level of education. However, the levels of unemployment amongst Sub-Saharan Africans is in the order of 20%, below average for the total immigrant population, but higher than the average for most non-European groups [13].

7.6 Asylum seekers and forced migration

Actually, 39271 persons coming from Africa are considered in France as political refugees and 2665 enjoy humanitarian protection. The African refugees represent 26% of all the refugees living in France today. The most numerous come from the Democratic Republic of Congo (former Zaïre). They are 10673. The flows have been almost permanent since the end of the eighties until today. The Mauritanians are 4325. They came above all after the ethnic conflicts between Arabic and black people. Refugees from Angola (2968) came during the long civil war, which took place in this country from 1975 to 2002. Today, their country is considered secure and they obtain more rarely the status of refugee (OFPRA, report 20019). The number of demands is nowadays still high. According to the last report of OFPRA, in 2021, 40656 demands for protection concerning people from Sub-Saharan Africa have been registered. It represents 45,5% of all the demands [15]. The asylum seekers from Africa come mainly from the Ivory Coast, Guinea, Nigeria, Sudan, and Eritrea. The reasons for their demands are more linked to societal problems than to political prosecutions. They mention the fear of sexual mutilations of young girls, forced weddings, prosecutions against homosexuals, and witchcraft. So, they are few to obtain the status of refugee. In 2021, around 2000 persons obtain subsidiary protection, giving them the possibility to stay legally in France for one year. It means OFPRA considers they risk prosecution if they are expelled from their country of origin. Among them, we find 292 boys and girls under 18 who entered France without being accompanied by adults. They can stay in France until to be of age. The asylum seekers are an important part of the fluxes arrived in France since the beginning of the 1990s. Few of them obtained the status of refugee but many could finally regularize their administrative situation and avoid being expelled. In spite of the importance of illegal situations, Sub-Saharan migrants are more and more numerous to be settled in France for a long time. A new generation is nowadays present and a process of taking root is at work. The question of identity is relatively complex. The first generation of migrants is still linked to their countries of origin. They have a deep feeling of belonging to their ethnic group or their nation. Things are different with the young generations. They are not particularly interested in Africa. They consider they are French with an African ascent. So, they are much more sensitive than their parents to the discrimination. However, they do not claim a “black identity.” They want to have a good place in French society by fighting discrimination and racism if necessary, but they do not want to become a specific group, such as the Afro-American people, in the United States. Some little groups of intellectuals develop an ideology funded by a radical separation between Black and Withes. This thesis is much discussed and has few influences on Sub-Saharan migrants and their children and grandchildren [16]. These ones look for social success in France above all. The policy of integration made by the different governments tried to promote some models of success among black Africans, such as the actor Omar Sy or the academic Pap Ndiaye, appointed Minister of education in 2022.

8. Conclusion

In spite of the links created in the past between Sub-Saharan Africa and Europe by colonialism, the number of migrants coming from this area is a long time remained unimportant. It did not mean the Black African people were a fixed population. On the contrary, migrations were particularly important in this area from antiquity to the beginning of the twentieth century. The migrations in Europe really begin during the 1990s and continue to go on until today, leading to the building of an important diaspora. This is the result of the migratory fluxes of the three last decades. In the case of France, the migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa were around 100 000 persons in the 1970s, mainly single men and unskilled workers. According to the census of 2019, they are more than a million, with an important part of women and children, asylum seekers, refugees, students, skilled workers, and so on. In the future, migrations from Sub-Saharan Africa will probably continue to grow. However, the cost of migration will remain very high and those who will be able to arrive in France will be probably people more rich and educated than the migrants of the preceding decades. That will give them more possibilities for integration but they will also demand much more. Will the traditional French model of progressive assimilation remain still efficient?