The social order is sustained by interlocked racial-class hierarchies. Building on a case study of transnationally mobile French Muslim professionals, this article examines the national entrenchment of these racial-class hierarchies. It unpacks the various racial-class formations migrants encounter during their transnational journey, and how these formations manifest as embodied dispositions. For many French Muslim professionals, spatial mobility serves a project of racial and class mobility, providing access to middle-class privileges previously denied to them in France. It also renders more tangible the national foundations of racism and Islamophobia, making strange taken-for-granted situations in French society. Drawing on extensive interviews that center on life histories, the article emphasizes how minority individuals acquire knowledge about racism and make sense of these experiences as they move across borders. Ultimately, it argues that spatial mobility can have transformative effects on the incorporated sets of racialized dispositions that propel individuals to see, feel, and act in certain ways, pointing to the heuristic value of a transnational approach to intersectionality studies.

Abstract The 2024 Olympic Summer Games in Paris took place amidst the geopolitical crisis in several different places in the world. In particular, the Russia-Ukraine war, the Israel-Hamas conflict, and the US-China diplomatic tension showed little sign of amelioration when the Olympic Games commenced in the French capital. This paper will examine the impact that the three contentions had on the organisation and delivery of the 2024 Olympic Summer Games in Paris. More specially, it pays attention to 1) the absence of the Russian and Belarusian Olympic delegations in this competition, 2) the presence of the Israel and Palestine Olympic teams in Paris, and 3) the Sino-American rivalry in the Olympic arena. It also critically assesses the Olympic Games, especially its Olympic Truce initiative, as a way to promote international peace. Due to the geopolitical tensions and diplomatic friction that involves major powers, Paris 2024 revealed several incidents of negative campaigns such as a threat to boycott, blame for politicising international sport, and the accusation of tainted integrity and of having double standards. This situation indicates the limitation of the IOC and the Olympic Games as a platform for promoting international peace when major geopolitical contention overshadows the spirit of the Olympic Truce. Such prevalence of negative campaigns surrounding the global sports mega-event may be a symptom of a wartime Olympics. To some extent, Paris 2024 only disclosed a disrespectful hostility underneath the colourful festivity amongst the nations in conflict.

This paper sheds light on the factors behind the introduction of restrictive immigration and integration policy in France between 2002 and 2012, which is closely associated with Nicholas Sarkozy and his party Union for a Popular Movement (UMP). Using the evidence from semi-structured interviews, conducted with The Republicans (UMP) elected representatives, political advisors and civil servants, the paper argues that the introduction of restrictive immigration policies is explained not only through electoral pressure from the radical right Front National, but also by publics’ perceived economic concerns, cultural anxieties around Islam, as well as the effects of the EU integration. The paper also contributes to immigration policy liberalisation scholarship, by highlighting the importance of non-economic benefits migration brings, which take a form of soft power, as a way to increase French influence (rayonnement) in the world, contrary to the previous literature that explains liberalisation from economic advantages of skilled migration.

This is yet another landmark issue for a variety of reasons. The first is our new Editorial Board, which I am thrilled to introduce in this issue. Many many thanks to the members of the previous EAB who during their near 20-year stint contributed greatly to the growth and development of French Politics as an internationally renowned and impactful political science journal. I am very proud and appreciative of the members of the new board-including several members from the previous EAB-for their outstanding records of scholarly excellence. The board is quite diverse with regard to gender-half are women; global representation-