Coronavirus: what impact of the crisis on French expatriates?

Frenchmen at Suvarnambhumi Airport in Bangkok on April 3, 2020, as coronavirus cases are increasing. Vivek Prakash / dpa

Text by: RFI Follow

Two million French people live and work outside of France. They are called "expatriates". The first Observatory of expatriation, held by videoconference, tried to find out who these French people are who promote French excellence abroad. And above all, how are they coping with the Covid-19 crisis?

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Whether they left for professional reasons, for their studies, for love or for thirst for adventure, they are attached to France while remaining integrated in their host country.

This is what emerges from an OpinionWay survey, organized with the Transatlantic Bank and the Union of French Abroad (UFE). But the crisis has passed by, notes Vincent Joulia of Banque Transatlantique: “  Our customers are taking the shock, they are very worried, for many, they count, it is true, on the support of France. I hope there won't be too many dramas. But for some of them, they have witnessed a deterioration in conditions, that's for sure. "

About 3,000 French people living in Vietnam could return to France. They saw their activity stopped net, like those who are established in Thailand, in North America or even in Africa, estimates Marc Boudin, general delegate of the Union of French abroad.

“  We have a lot of feedback, especially from countries where we have a lot of people who live off tourism, who have small shops, restaurants, travel agencies, etc. These people are starting to return. It is the slowdown in economic activity that has affected Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal, South Africa, where we are going to have French people who will return. "

But for many of these French expatriates, the priority is to stay to resume their activity as quickly as possible.

► Also listen: Social impact of Covid-19 on French expatriates in Cambodia

Our selection on the coronavirus

• Listen to our Coronavirus Info column 

• Our  explanations  :
→  What we know about the mode of contagion
→  Disparities and inequalities in the face of the coronavirus
→  Triple therapy, Discovery… update on research
→  Remdesivir, antibodies and immunity
→  The race for the vaccine is in full swing
→  How to make a mask and use it well

• Our series  :
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→ “  Words of nurses  ”

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• See also the files of RFI Savoirs on the Covid-19:
→  Birth of a pandemic
→  Everyday life put to the test
→  The history of epidemics
→  Science facing the Covid-19
→  The geopolitical consequences

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  • France
  • Coronavirus
  • Economy
  • Employment and Work
  • Expatriates

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