Ethnography of racial identities in Paris: public indicators of social hierarchy. A research note

Abstract

Those who are French by acquisition versus French by birth now represent a new challenge to French social stratification. Do social inequalities exist based upon cultural acquisition as opposed to birth? If so, are they increasing or decreasing? For the moment there is no way to answer these questions directly. The author conducted an ethnographic study in Parisian public spaces during the winter and spring of 2005. The central hypothesis is that social divisions can be observed and even measured in public spaces if representative social behaviors are recurring. The author described four patterns of deference in public spaces that people of color who are French by acquisition give to those who are self-identified French by birth. Suggestions were made of how these observations could be confirmed or not by others.