Paradoxes in the politicisation of race: A comparison of the UK and France

The desire to keep ‘immigration’ and ‘race’ out of politics is a natural response to the threat of the far right. When taken seriously by mainstream politicians (as in the UK), depoliticisation does in fact prove fairly successful in party‐political terms. Conversely its absence (as in France) is clearly detrimental. Yet, in a deeper sense, it is also shortsighted and misleading. So long as ethnic minorities have a political voice, they will raise issues in a way that leads to politicisation of certain aspects of ‘immigration’ and ‘race’. Again, so long as members of minority groups have a vote, they will be wooed by mainstream political parties. This too is a form of politicisation. Therefore, unless migration can be prevented completely, keeping ‘immigration’ out of politics means keeping migrants and their children out of politics, which is incompatible with basic democratic principles. Thus, neither politicisation nor depoliticisation is a panacea. The elusive goal must be to bring minority concerns into the political mainstream. This is inseparably linked to the wider political and theoretical debate, in both the UK and France, about the shape of future society, given the fact of new forms of cultural diversity.