France, You Love It but Leave It

The Silent Flight of French Muslims

Olivier Esteves, Alice Picard, Julien Talpin

• Publisher: Polity
• Year: 2026
• Print ISBN: 9781509570089, 9781509570072
• eBook ISBN: 9781509570096
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Discrimination & Race Relations
• Index: Social Sciences

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, this book 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.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Table of Contents
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Introduction
• 1 The Silent Flight of a Stigmatized Elite
• 2 Facing Racism in Their Formative Years
• 3 The Why and How of Leaving France
• 4 ‘Breathing at Last’, a Happy Diaspora Regardless
• 5 More French Than Ever?
• Conclusion
• Acknowledgements
• Index
• End User License Agreement