Les Grecs de France

Abstract

This study traces the history of Greeks in France beginning with the fifteenth century. After a presentation of the immigration history of Greeks to France, the author describes the organization of the Greeks in that country and discusses the structures of the different Hellenic communities in France. On the other hand, he draws a picture of Greek-French personalities and, then, he analyzes the political weight/influence of Greeks in France. After having pointed out the problems of Hellenism in France, the author considers the indifference shown by the Greek authorities in both Athens and Paris, an indifference that constitutes a serious error. By comparing the Greek with the Turkish community of France (which has been considerably increased over the last few years) the author concludes that “as soon asthe right to vote in the municipal elections is accorded to the foreign workers, something that is not very far in the future, the political influence of the Turk immigrants and therefor that of Turkey will become considerable and that influence will operate at the expense of Greek interests. It will be, then, quite late for the Greek government and its diplomatic services to correct the errors resulting from their improvidence”.