Les acteurs municipaux et leurs étrangers (1919-1984) : Gains et contraintes d'un détour communal pour l'analyse d'un travail de catégorisation étatique

Abstract

This article deals with the administrative process of providing residence permits to foreigners during the interwar period by observing the practices of communities, which played the role of an interface between foreigners and the prefecture departments in charge of investigation. This entry point through the local community allows us to break down the administrative work of categorisation and reveal its political dimension. It also involves methodological constraints that determine the nature of the explanatory elements available in exclusively archival material.