Portuguese in France

Portuguese in France (Luso-French) refers to people from Portugal who immigrated to or reside in France or French citizens of Portuguese descent. Portuguese immigration in France took place mainly during the 1960s and 1970s, to escape dictatorship and conscription, and to enable immigrants to find better living conditions. Portuguese migrants were sometimes referred as gens des baraques ("people from the barracks"). Most began working in construction. Category:French Sephardi Jews Even though contacts between the two countries were established in the Antiquity and the first king of Portugal was of French descent, for many centuries migration routes remained rather unexplored.in fact, it is only in the XVI century that one of the first relevant influxes of Portuguese people coming to France was recorded. This immigration was partly a result of the expulsion decree issued in 1496 by the Portuguese monarchy, which targeted Jews and Moors living in Portugal. This decree forced many Jews to either convert to Christianity (leading to the emergence of Cristão-novos and of Crypto-Judaism practices) or leave the country, leading to a diaspora of Portuguese Jews throughout Europe, including France. Starting from 1550, they were recognized rights previously reserved to French citizens only, thus encouraging further immigration. It is believed that up to 10,000 Portuguese-Jews might have migrated to France from 1497; this phenomenon remained noticeable up until the 1600s, when the Netherlands became a favourite choice. As of consequence, many Portuguese-Jews settled in the western provinces of France, most notably in Nouvelle-Aquitaine establishing communities in cities such as Biarritz, Bayonne, Bordeaux, La Rochelle and Nantes. In the latter alone, in 1590 100 people of Portuguese-Jewish descent naturalized. Due to their origin, upon their arrival in France, they were often referred to as nouveaux chrétiens (new Christians) forming the Nation Portugaise (Portuguese nation).