Portuguese in France
Even though contacts between the two countries were established in the Antiquity and the first king of Portugal was of French descent, for many centuries migration routes remained rather unexplored.
This immigration was partly a result of the expulsion decree issued in 1496 by the Portuguese monarchy, which targeted Jews and Moors living in Portugal.
[17] As of consequence many Portuguese-Jews settled in the western provinces of France, most notably in Nouvelle-Aquitaine establishing communities in cities such as Biarritz, Bayonne, Bordeaux, La Rochelle and Nantes.
Haïm Vidal Séphiha, professor emeritus and first holder of the chair of Judeo-Spanish at the Sorbonne, explains this difference by the proximity of Spain and the many commercial relations that the community maintained with this country.
In addition, the first Jew recorded to having set foot in Canada, Esther Brandeau as well as Jacob Rodrigues Pereira, one of the inventors of deaf-mutes sign language, both had Portuguese-Jewish roots.Among other contributions Portuguese-Jews have made to France, one ought to mention the Pereire brothers (Émile Pereire and Isaac Pereire) were among the most influential entrepreneurs in the XIX century, Benjamin Olinde Rodrigues (famous for Rodrigues' rotation formula), Eugène Péreire (founder of Banque Transatlantique), Noémie de Rothschild (founder of Société Française des Hôtels de Montagne), Catulle Mèndes, Eugénie Foa, Jacob Émile Édouard Péreira Brandon, Pierre Mendès France, Daniel Iffla and Jules Carvallo (among the founders of the Alliance Israélite Universelle).
With the expeditionary forces, some 22,000 Portuguese citizens came to France, among 600,000 foreign workers contracted for providing assistance to the nation's military efforts.
As the country was struggling with reconstruction efforts after the conflict, the French authorities aimed to maintain the presence of Portuguese individuals in France.
Consequently, the Portuguese community reemerged in the 1931 census with a population of 49,000, predominantly male, and primarily employed in the industrial sector.
[31] The 1930s economic crisis had severe consequences for Portuguese migrants, with French governments implementing laws and measures to prevent the arrival of new immigrants and to exclude foreign workers deemed undesirable.
[34] Philippe Rygiel's research on Cher reveals that Portuguese were the most heavily impacted by expulsions and non-renewal of worker's identity cards.
[31] As newcomers with limited French language proficiency, insufficient social capital, and with their state of origin refusing to sign any agreement with France, the Portuguese were the primary targets of a strict administration, claiming to defend national workers.
Additionally, the Portuguese dictatorship was concerned about the return of its workers with liberal or even communist ideas, according to the French ambassador to Portugal.
[35] Between 1957 and 1974 some 900,000 Portuguese citizens sought refuge in France, mostly workers from the peasantry and young people refusing to be enrolled in the army for the colonial wars.
[38] Leaders of the opposition to the dictatorship of António de Oliveira Salazar, notable communists, also found refuge in France to escape arrest.
For instance, it were mostly the Portuguese, who developed and inhabited what is supposed to be the largest bidonville (or slum) ever emerged in France: up to 20,000 people lived in miserable conditions in Champigny-sur-Marne, on the outskirts of Paris.
The French media tended to portray these immigrants as individuals with limited cultural knowledge and no political affiliation, typically associated with low-skilled jobs.
Following the improvement of economic conditions in Portugal, there was a decrease in the number of Portuguese emigrants leaving their home country in search of better opportunities in France.
This could be attributed to a decrease in economic hardship and an increase in job opportunities in Portugal, reducing the push factors driving emigration.
The numbers soared after the 2008 recession that has greatly influenced Portugal (where the unemployment rate skyrocketed to 17.1%[55]) in a way that some started referring to a "new boom" in emigration.
As the majority of the Portuguese in France are now French citizens and the community has achieved greater stability, their image in the country is more positive.
The shantytowns disappeared between the end of the 1960s and the beginning of the 1970s and were replaced by HLM (Habitation à Loyer Modéré or Social Housing).
[87] As in the past, when many Portuguese-Jews settled in western France, in the XX century the Portuguese community moving to the region became visible.
