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Neither public opinion nor evidence-based research supports the claim of some politicias and the media that immigrants take the jobs of native-born workers. Public opinion polls in six migrant-destination countries after the 2008–2009 recession show that most people believe that immigrants fill job vacancies and many believe that they create jobs and do not take jobs from native workers. This view is corroborated by evidence-based research showing that immigrants—of all skill levels—do not significantly affect native employment in the short term and boost employment in the long term.

While economists were pointing out the advantages of the EU enlargement, politicians and policymakers were raising grave concerns about the significant political and economic differences between the newcomer states (EU12) and the old Europe of EU15. The major point of apprehension was related to the labor markets. Visceral fear rendered more than one in two Europeans to believe that the EU enlargement contributed to job losses in their own country. Some EU15 member states opted for transitional arrangements and did not allow labor mobility from the EU12. This chapter reviews the achievements of the first five years of the EU27 and assesses and evaluates the effectiveness of the enforced policies while it identifies winner and losers. Overall, the EU enlargement did not produce any negative effects or disruptions in the labor markets of the Member States. All three agents, the migrants, the receiving countries, and the sending countries gained from labor mobility. The EU15 countries with closed door policy lost in high-skilled labor and their labor markets experienced a delayed adjustment that overlapped with the global crisis and exacerbated negativity. As self-employed labor was not under the same mobility Act, the self-employed were able to move to the country they were needed and open successful businesses. The global crisis tainted the rosy results of the enlargement and left the EU27 vulnerable to shocks.

The purpose of this paper is to study the immigrant performance in France and the impacts on the natives by drawing on research findings from the existing academic literature on the economics of French migration. The research questions are: how do immigrants fare with respect to wages, employment, and occupational choices; are immigrants in competition with the natives, and do they harm or improve the labour market situation of natives; does the presence of immigrants alter the internal migration flows of natives; and what is the role of the business cycle and natives? sentiments on the immigrant flows? The studies reviewed showed that while some immigrant groups are faring well, assimilation and intergenerational mobility has not taken place to a full extent. Overall, immigrants hardly affect the wages and employment levels of natives, and there are no significant displacement effects. However, the social and cultural distance between immigrants and natives is crucial in natives? sentiments. Moreover, business cycles and labour market conditions play a significant role on migration. In France of 2000, there remains a significant gap between policy goals and outcomes, indicating that integration through cultural and political venues alone is not enough but should be combined with a systematic treatment of the needs of the labour market. Lastly, there is substantial need for further studies on immigrants in France.