This chapter continues the discussion of the relationship between the French and immigrant families by focusing on young people, especially those of North African origin, in the school system and on the job market. It tells a melancholy story but one that will contain no surprises for anyone familiar with similar milieus in Britain or America (see, for example, Rex and Tomlinson 1979, Chapter 6). The chapter also continues the ideological analysis undertaken in previous chapters by examining French views on what are thought of as the educational problems of young people. First, however, it is necessary to comment briefly on the general structural situation of young North Africans, in particular North African males. This requires an understanding of their legal situation.

THE LEGAL STATUS OF YOUNG NORTH AFRICANS

“The prospects for a return to Algeria are difficult for the young. The Algerians born and brought up in France, or who have lived here for a long time, are treated in Algeria rather like the pied noir is treated here in France. Until the age of eighteen they are neither one thing nor the other, but then they can choose [nationality]. It is possible for someone at age eighteen to end up without work and no prospect of obtaining any” (an éducateur at Vénissieux).

“The children of the North African families in this area were born in France, but they have difficulty in finding an identity. They are rejected by the French but have no thought of returning home.