The Italians

From Unwanted Migrants to Invisible Citizens

They built France.

They were feared for it.

Then they were forgotten.

Before pizza became a symbol of familiarity, before Italian names blended seamlessly into French life, Italians were the most unwanted migrants in France. They were accused of taking jobs, lowering wages, spreading crime, and threatening national identity.

They were essential.

And they were feared.

The Italians: From Unwanted Migrants to Invisible Citizens tells the untold story of how millions of Italian men and women transformed France—while being rejected by it. From rural collapse in Italy to backbreaking labor in French mines, farms, and cities; from xenophobic violence to silent integration; from foreign suspicion to full citizenship, this book traces the long, uneasy journey from exclusion to invisibility.

Drawing on historical research, social analysis, and lived experience, Julien Peltier reveals:

• Why Italians were once considered a national threat

• How fear, violence, and discrimination shaped their lives

• Why contribution did not guarantee acceptance

• How integration happened without recognition

• And why this forgotten history matters today

This is not a nostalgic celebration of immigration.

It is a clear-eyed examination of how nations absorb outsiders—slowly, reluctantly, and at great human cost.

The Italians is the first volume in the Strangers Who Made France series, which explores the migrant communities that shaped modern France—and what their stories reveal about identity, fear, and belonging.

If you believe today’s immigration debates are unprecedented, this book will change your mind.