Neoliberal Government of Integration: Governing By Enterprise and Law

In France, in line with the EU level decisions and regulations, the integration policies got increasingly stricter in the last decade.  The introduction of mandatory integration contract for the third country nationals, and the stricter criteria of republican and financial integration illustrate this trend.  Focusing on the policies developed in France starting from 2000’s, this study examines the changing rationale of integration mechanisms, the biopolitical implications of the new forms of governmental intervention for the third country nationals and the implications of the increasing illegality that follow.  Analyzing this shift from a Foucauldian perspective, I argue that the integration, which was previously seen as the responsibility of the French welfare state -as part of the post WW2 imperialist development paradigm – is submitted to a neoliberal logic and thus is relegated to the individual immigrant who is now expected to invest himself as an entrepreneur subject.  The counterpart of this enterprise logic established with the introduction of a series of legislations is the so-called numeric management of migration control, increasing illegality and an expulsion ecstasy, endorsed by the French government.  This study discusses neoliberalization of integration in relation with the ways in which France governs its external relations and thinks and acts upon the immigrant sending countries, the ex-colonies in Africa.