Towards understanding state capacity to prevent unwanted migration: Employer sanctions enforcement in France, 1975–1990

The implementation of employer sanctions in France along with problems and issues related to their enforcement are chronicled in this article. Bureaucratic structures and legal aspects of the issue are analysed, as is overall effectiveness of the sanctions, in order to assess whether state capacity did in fact increase over the period 1975–90. It is found to have increased incrementally, but obstacles to the measure's effectiveness remain. These include the reluctance on the part of the courts and labour inspectors to impose fines in some cases, the lack of sufficient resources devoted to enforcement, and the difficulty of monitoring employers in general. In addition, the issue of discrimination and employer sanctions is not found to have been a salient issue in France.