From Radio France International (RFI)—an article, podcast, and video in English (or subtitled) that vividly tell the story of Portuguese immigrants in France, presented by Les Historiennes Via Zoom The Portuguese in France make up one of the country’s longest-established communities. Arriving mainly in the 1960s and 70s, they faced tough working conditions, life in shantytowns, and resentment from some of the local population. Their story, for many years thought best forgotten, is vividly described by those who lived those early years interviewed by RFI. Their journey and settling in France are celebrated in a monument in a town to the east of Paris. A cluster of six towns along the banks of the River Marne are still home to many of France’s some 83,000 people of Portuguese origin, according to the country’s embassy in Paris (2018). “We came because, first of all, we had nothing in Portugal,” remembers Valdemar Francisco, who came to France as a child in the 60s. His family came from Leiria, a region in central Portugal where France opened an immigration bureau. “French doctors went to Portugal to choose people to come to France and the doctors examined people’s teeth, saw if people were strong … They would send the person’s name to France and French companies would send a contract.” Join Les Historiennes for this collection of stories and images captured by RFI journalists in their visit to Champigny-sur-Marne in 2018.
