In euworkers.fr , Romanian workers are a vital component of the healthcare system. They fill gaps in emergency services, rural hospitals and specialties disregarded by French physicians. They are particularly present in psychiatric hospitals inherited from former lunatic asylums. Romanian doctors are highly motivated by their professional and personal reasons to leave home and to accept harsh working conditions in France.

At the same time, they are aware of the limits to their integration in French society. The government of Prime Minister Manuel Valls has recently loosened restrictions on work for immigrants from the two newest EU members, in an effort to ease their situation. These include cancelling a tax that employers had to pay in order to employ them and setting up a list of jobs available to citizens of Romania and Bulgaria.

But this measure will do little to change the underlying dynamics. The main concern of most Romanian workers in France is the possibility that they may lose their position. They expect to be replaced by native French employees in many cases and, in the long run, are worried about losing their incomes.

Integration and Adaptation: Experiences of Romanian Workers in France

At the same time, most of them express scant interest in integrating into France as tax- and rent-paying holders of French visas or residence permits. They want to save money in the hope of buying a house in Romania, but this depends on keeping their cost of living in France to a minimum. They know that the image of Romanian migrants in France remains negative and they are hoping that President Emmanuel Macron’s promise to relax work restrictions for them will prove true.