From permanent immigration to circular migration: the experience of (re)migration in individual trajectories in France.

Summary This thesis studies the role of migration trajectories to and from metropolitan France in individual life paths. Going beyond the traditional conception of migration as a unidirectional and linear movement, the objective of this thesis is first to improve knowledge of the phenomenon of immigrant remigration in France. By considering France as both an arrival and a departure area, it aims more broadly to renew the approach to migration by comparing different types of migrants that are rarely studied together: immigrants, natives of the French Overseas Departments, foreign-born French, second generations, and natives of the majority population. By combining tax and census data from the Permanent Demographic Sample (1975-1999, 2011-2016), and the Trajectories and Origins survey (2008), this research relies on an original empirical device that makes it possible to explore the place of migratory experiences in individual life paths at various points in the migration process. The comparison between different categories of population reveals the diversity of migration trajectories from metropolitan France, real or envisaged, and their determinants. The combined analysis of these selection processes and of the effects of a stay abroad on professional careers upon return to France provides new insights into the role of migration in the (re)production of social inequalities. Finally, this thesis shows how considering past mobilities and possible future remigrations of immigrants refines our understanding of the mechanisms of socioeconomic integration in the host society.