L’Europe, territoire à construire

enquête sur les motivations et les conséquences des migrations intra-européennes

Abstract

This article analyses the consequences of European mobility on social structures in Europe. After reviewing the academic literature available on the migration behavioural patterns of three social groups (students, professionals and pensioners), the article identifies two ideal-typical profiles of European migrants: those predisposed to mobility due to their social and human capital and those whose migration decisions are mediated by the existence of European opportunity structures. The following sections analyse the motivations of European migrants and the consequences of their mobility on host societies. The authors emphasise the importance of network socialisation and underline the increasing europeanisation of some of these networks. The article concludes that it is not possible to identify a “European mobile aristocracy” but rather that, by seizing personal mobility opportunities, migrants create a European territory, which may anticipate the emergence of a European society.