CHIPRE - Chinese Immigrants in Paris Region

Chinese immigrants in France (105,000 in 2017) rank 5th among non-European immigrants and 4th among nationalities admitted to residence. An abundant literature, based mainly on qualitative or historical approaches, analyzes their characteristics, highlighting in particular a diversification of the provinces of origin in China that redraws the migratory dynamics from this country, as well as a feminization of the entry flows. However, despite an average annual growth rate of more than 8% between 1982 and 2017 (six times faster than that of other immigrants), the Chinese immigrant population remains relatively unknown in quantitative terms. The ChIPRe project, in which the first French quantitative survey specifically dedicated to Chinese immigrants in Île-de-France was conducted, documents different dimensions of this immigration. Two central hypotheses govern this research project: 1) The Chinese immigrant population residing in Île-de-France does not form a homogeneous group in terms of regions of origin in China, socio-demographic characteristics and economic and social incorporation into the majority society. 2) There is a strong segmentation of this population, linked in particular to the individuals' pre-migration path, their level of education, their region of origin in China and the resources and support networks that can be mobilized after arrival in the host country within the framework of a possible regional community of origin. The survey used an innovative sampling method (Network Sampling with Memory) to: collect quantitative data to enrich knowledge about Chinese living in Paris or the Paris region; measure the heterogeneity of this population (region of origin in China, socio-economic characteristics); explore the links between groups of different geographical origins, as well as the role of sociability networks in the job search and social mobility of new entrants; test the existence of a «selective assimilation» model of the Chinese immigrant population in Paris and the Paris region; and describe their experiences of discrimination. The gender perspective is transversal to all the analyses.