Poll: Guess who wants me to come for dinner?

Well, surprise, surprise! In a new poll released by the International Herald Tribune today, it turns out that the French are more likely than the Americans, British, Germans, Italians, and Spanish to invite an ethnic minority home for dinner.

In the six-nation poll — conducted both before and after Nicolas Sarkozy, a hardliner on immigration, was elected president — the French were also found to be the most positive about immigration. 52 percent of respondents said that the number of immigrants within their borders was “about right.” In the U.S., 43 percent responded similarly, while 35 percent felt that there were “too many” foreign-born residents.

The British overwhelmingly turned out to be the most hostile to outsiders, with two thirds saying that there are too many immigrants and 80 percent in favor of immigration quotas. The Germans and the Italians both polled at about 55 percent saying that there are too many immigrants. 

When it comes to integration of immigrants, 43 percent of Americans think their country is a success. Spain, which has a large number of Latin Americans living within its borders, is relatively neutral on the issue of integration, with 62 percent of respondents saying that they find it neither a failure nor a success. But in Britain, France, Germany, and Italy, well over half of the respondents think that the integration of immigrants in their countries has been a failure.    

Being an ethnic minority myself, and having lived in half of the countries polled, my guess is that most people view the question of integration as a social one, not a political or economic issue. And in the U.S., there’s at least a perception (if not a reality) of the American “melting pot.” Certainly legal integration is easier. No matter your national origin, if you hold citizenship, you’re American. That’s not the case in much of Europe. Certainly there is more of an effort to economically integrate immigrants in Europe, simply because there is a stronger welfare state. Which then translates into more social hostility, with people believing that their tax money is being used to prop up minority communities.  As far as political integration goes, there are certain places in Britain and Germany (and possibly the other countries too, but I don’t know) where non-citizen immigrants can vote in local elections. Still, it does surprise me that the British are so hostile. I had a very positive experience when I lived in England. Then again, I was in London. And I didn’t really meet that many British people.

But anyway, at the end of the day, what I really care about is culinary integration. And so this poll is basically good news for me, because French food, after all, ibeats the pants of most its competitors. Now I just need to make more French friends.