Migrant Children of the Past and Present: Integrating in France as a Country of Asylum

​In the current world refugee crisis, many of the migrant refugees crossing Europe end up in France. Among the difficulties refugees face is the process of seeking asylum, which is complicated even in a country that has seen itself as being open and welcoming. Throughout the twentieth century France has taken in thousands of war victims, notably refugees of the Spanish Civil War in the 1930s and Jewish refugees fleeing World War II, and the right for the persecuted to seek asylum in France is even written in the French constitution. Why then, do refugees in France often find themselves in poor living conditions, waiting for several months until their applications for asylum are processed – many of which get rejected? Refugee children are particularly vulnerable during this time, especially unaccompanied minors, who might not know where to turn. Luckily, there are dozens of social organizations that help them, giving information, food and personal items, while some act for better protection and housing of refugees. Those refugees who do achieve legal protection in France can experience the joys of receiving generous care, and eventually that of personal success, but also the challenges of integrating into a new society.