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DEBORAH REED-DANAHAY, 2025, Sideways Migration: Being French in London, New 

York: Routledge, 178 pp. ISBN 978-1-032-73283-1 (hbk), ISBN 978-1- 032-73434-7 (pbk), 

ISBN 978-1-003-46416-7 (ebk). 

 

KEYWORDS: Sideways migration, the French, London, Brexit, Emplacements and 

Dislocations 

 

Migration studies is a major well-established area of research with a focus on dangerous escape 

and precarious conditions in the new country. Yet there are large movements of middle-class 

lifestyle migrants who relocate to a geographically nearby country similar socially, politically 

and economically to their country of origin. The French in London are a case in point. In this 

brilliant book, Deborah Reed-Danahay explores: “The ways in which French citizens 

experience living in London, as well as the way in which the French are in turn perceived and 

positioned in London” (p. 19). In order to capture this process, Reed-Danahay introduces the 

apt concept “sideways migration.” It draws on Ulf Hannerz’ (2006) notion of “studying 

sideways” which he applied for his study of foreign correspondents. The concept refers to 

fieldwork where the anthropologist shares status and outlook with interlocutors, this has 

become quite common.    

 

Reed-Danahay is a leading Bourdieu expert. In Sideways Migration she develops Bourdieu’s 

ideas by “placing understandings of capital and habitus in the wider contexts of social space” 

(p.37) and, importantly, shows how French social space reaches beyond the borders of France 

– to “Paris-on-Thames” – both when it comes to affiliations and practices of French citizens in 

London and to how institutions, the “French emigration apparatus,” operates. Another 

explanation to the thoroughness of this well-crafted book is Reed-Danahay’s extensive 

ethnographic experience of rural migration in France and thus of France. It is a rare advantage 

when migration scholars are as familiar with the country of origin of the migrants as she is. 

Reed-Danahay has robust knowledge of French society, culture and politics. It goes without 



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saying that she is a fluent speaker of French. For this study, she has collected personal 

narratives of relocation to London from France. They illuminate larger structures such as the 

free movement of EU citizens that was disbanded with Brexit and suddenly turned these rather 

privileged middle class movers into ordinary migrants that had to submit a cumbersome 

application to be able to stay in the United Kingdom. This was experienced as humiliating, 

especially by the aspirational middle classes that perceived “migrants” as poor people they had 

nothing in common with.          

 

There is no doubt that Reed-Danahay’s appreciation of French culture was key for the success 

of her research. It unfolded between 2014 and 2024 and included ethnographic fieldwork with 

participant observation at institutions related to the French population, and social events, during 

ten visits of altogether 12 months. Since there are few neighborhoods in London where French 

people typically reside or work or go for entertainment, this is a fieldwork that took place over 

many sites across the city. Such “several fields in one” (Hannerz 2006; Wulff 2026) is one 

aspect of urban ethnography. In addition to informal conversations, Reed-Danahay conducted 

about 60 interviews with French residents. She also included institutional, governmental and 

business materials for her designation “the emigration apparatus,” as well as some information 

from digital and print social media such as journalism.  Even though most of her interlocutors 

were more or less middle class, there was a variety in their class background, education and 

profession, as well as age and length of residence in London. Circumstances of migrating and 

experiences of settling in London also varied among the interlocutors, which might have 

something to do with their different places of origin in France: they came from Paris, provincial 

towns, even overseas French departments. Some interlocutors came from working class and 

racial minority background and had endured social and economic hardships in London. While 

most interlocutors were white, a number of them were French citizens of colour. In light of the 

racial diversity, established since long in London, these French people can thus “pass” for 

British in looks and dress. They do not appear particularly foreign in the streets of London. 

That is, until they start speaking. Reed-Danahay’s interlocutors deliberately kept their French 

accents when they spoke English. This was in line with living in the “French bubble.” 

Moreover, many found a French accent prestigious.  As to gender of the interlocutors, French 

men were interviewed and included in the study, but the majority were women. A few of them 

were trailing spouses, but most of the men and women had jobs ranging from teachers, in health 

care, and with companies, to working for the French government and cultural institutions.  

 



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Organized in five chapters, Sideways Migration features a Prologue, an Introduction and a 

Conclusion. In the Prologue, Reed-Danahay describes La Maison Michelin, an Art-Noveau/Art 

Deco building in Chelsea which is an iconic landmark of the French in London. For Reed-

Danahay it was a fond reminder of her first fieldwork in a rural township close to the city of 

Clermont-Ferrand, where the Michelin company was based. Thereby the building can be said 

to connect these two field studies. The Introduction provides a substantial background to the 

study by explaining both the social and geographical closeness between Paris and London and 

a history of certain conflict. While “there is a strong theme of ambivalence about France among 

French people who choose to live outside of its geographic territory (p. 3), there is also the 

extensive “emigration apparatus” that supports the French migration to London.  In the chapter 

London as a Space of Possibilities, we learn about the cultural importance of “une bonne 

baguette” and that this is manifest in competitions. Next the chapter on Emplacement and 

Dislocations shows how both these processes are at stake for the French in London, while the 

chapter on Fieldwork in “Brexit Time” conveys the drama of this rupture which was 

unexpected among the French (as among most other Europeans, probably even among those 

who campaigned and voted for Leave). A chapter on The French Emigration Apparatus details 

the loose assemblages of the institutions in question. Rather than referring to a migration 

industry aiming for profit at work only, as Reed-Danahay argues it needs to be understood 

“alongside governmental agencies, civic associations, and nonprofit organizations” (p. 111) as 

well as religious and educational institutions and private companies. They all facilitate 

relocation from France to London. The last chapter brings out French Imaginaries of London 

Life as depicted in memoirs and fiction. They tend to portray middle class people craving for 

another possible life, one of emotional and economic security which can come with the French 

national identity.    

 

Sideways Migration is written in an exemplary lucid style. It is an absorbing account of 

expectations for (an even) better life. Being French in London used to provide social and 

economic advancement, it was a sign of prestige – but then came Brexit and much of it fell 

apart, prompting people who used to feel “J’ai trouvé my place” (p. 51) to return to France. 

The French population in London was decreasing in the wake of Brexit, but now it is increasing 

again!     

 

References 



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Hannerz, Ulf. 2003. “Being there . . . and there . . . and there! Reflections on Multi-Site 

Ethnography.” Ethnography, 2(4): 229-244. https://doi-

org.ezp.sub.su.se/10.1177/14661381030042003  

Hannerz, Ulf. 2006. “Studying Down, Up Sideways, Through, Backwards, Forwards, Away 

and at Home: Reflections on the Field Worries of an Expansive Discipline.” In Locating the 

Field: Space, Place and Context in Anthropology. Simon Coleman and Peter Collins (eds.), 

pp. 23-41. Oxford: Berg.  

Wulff, Helena. Forthcoming 2026. Diversifying from Within: Migrant Writing in Sweden. 

London: Routledge. 

 

Helena Wulff is Professor Emerita in the Department of Social Anthropology at Stockholm 

University. Her research interests are in expressive cultural form – dance, images, text. Key 

engagements are in the anthropologies of literature and writing. Among her recent  

publications are the monographs Rhythms of Writing: An Anthropology of Irish Literature 

(Routledge, 2017) and Diversifying from Within: Migrant Writing in Sweden (Routledge, 

2026),  the edited volumes The Anthropologist as Writer: Genres and Contexts in the 

Twenty-First Century (Berghahn, 2016). There is the entry ”Writing Anthropology” (2021)   

https://www.anthroencyclopedia.com/entry/writing-anthropology. Drawing on her research, 

she sometimes writes creative essays.  

 

 

 

 

© 2025 Helena Wulff 

https://doi-org.ezp.sub.su.se/10.1177/14661381030042003
https://doi-org.ezp.sub.su.se/10.1177/14661381030042003
https://www.anthroencyclopedia.com/entry/writing-anthropology

