Lecture
France, you love it but you leave it
- Date
- Friday 17 April 2026
- Time
- Location
-
Herta Mohr
Witte Singel 27A
2311 BG Leiden - Room
- 1.84
Their names are Mohamed, Samira, sometimes Matthieu or Sophie. They were born and bred in France and are highly qualified, but they have decided to go and live in London or New York, Montreal or Brussels, Geneva or Dubai. Many were discriminated against on the French job market or stigmatized simply because of their religion or the sound of their names. Whether devout or not, they felt unloved and unwanted in France, but abroad they have found a sense of peace and fulfilment that their native country failed to give them.
Based on extensive original research, France you love it but you leave it a book co-authored by O. Esteves, A. Picard and J. Talpin sheds new light on the silent and largely unacknowledged flight abroad of French Muslims. It explores their motivations, their experiences in France and abroad, and their sense of Frenchness, torn between gratitude and bitterness. This book isn't just about an unreported brain-drain - it is also about the deleterious effects of Islamophobia in a country that balks at the very mention of the concept. And it highlights a pressing issue that many nations with Muslim minorities need to confront.
About the speaker
Olivier Esteves is professor of British studies at Lille University. He works on the sociology and history of immigration and race relations. He is the author of De l’invisibilité à l’islamophobie : les musulmans britanniques (1945-2010) (Presses de Sciences Po, 2011), The 'desegregation' of English schools (Manchester University Press, 2018). Inside the Black Box of 'White Backlash' (Routledge, 2022).