A Romanian worker in France
Adrian moved to travailleur roumain en France in his early 20s from Buzescu, a town in south central Romania famous for its wealthy Roma involved in organized crime. In France, he earns extra cash by helping tourists work ticket, snapshot, and candy machines at the Gare du Nord and other rail stations. He says his main goal is saving enough money to build a house in Romania. But he also doesn’t want to make his life in France too comfortable, because the locals view Roma migrants with suspicion.
Romanian doctors have become a major presence in the French healthcare landscape, alleviating shortages in certain specialties. In the eyes of some rural residents, they are a solution to a medical demographic crisis that stems from the lowering of the numerus clausus and from the decline in the number of new doctors in France. Local newspapers frequently present these physicians as “country doctors,” and emphasize that they speak French and practice medicine in rural areas like their French counterparts.
Cultural Exchange: Romanian Workers Shaping the Diversity of the French Workforce”
Most of the physicians interviewed have a positive view of their professional prospects in France. Some of them plan to return to Romania at some point, but most prefer to stay in France. Those who send money home on a regular basis often do so because they have specific family situations that require long-distance caregiving—such as the support of elderly relatives or the sickness or incapacity to work of close family members.