Patrick Simon
Patrick Simon is Director of Research at the Institut national d’études démographiques (National Institute for Demographic Studies; INED) and is a fellow researcher at the centre d'études européennes (Center for European Studies) at Sciences Po. He was a Visiting Scholar at the Russell Sage Foundation and a Fulbright Fellow in 2010-11.
Trained as a sociodemographer at L’École des hautes études en sciences sociales (School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences; EHESS), where he earned a doctoral degree in 1994, he has studied social and ethnic segregation in French cities, antidiscrimination policies, and the integration of ethnic minorities in European countries. He is one of the principal investigators of a large survey, Trajectories and Origins: The Diversity of Population in France, conducted by INED and the Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques (National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies).
Recent Activity
This report explores how French national identity and sense of belonging are both defined and expressed. The discussion revolves around the issues of “hyphenated identities” and whether the split allegiances of dual citizens weaken social cohesion in France.
Since the mid-19th century, French immigration policy has had two aims: to meet the needs of the labor market by introducing migrant workers, and to compensate French demographic deficits by favoring the permanent installation of foreign families, while ensuring their integration. This country profile examines France's approach to migration.