Welfare Provision (Criteria) for French Nationals

French Philanthropic Societies in Geneva and Local Charitable Institutions around 1900

Abstract

In the decades preceding the First World War, it remained unclear which authorities were legally responsible for providing welfare to those who had migrated to the Swiss canton of Geneva. For French nationals in need of assistance, the Société française philanthropique (SFP), founded in Geneva in 1871, was an important port of call. Its means, however, were limited. SFP therefore collaborated with other French philanthropic societies and the French consulate. It also maintained close ties to local, private charitable associations and Geneva’s state institutions. ese close ties between SFP and various other institutional welfare providers were rooted in a shared concept of what con- stituted a valued member of society: migrants who failed to fullfil the selection criteria, such as being settled in the area and being of good conduct, were denied assistance. Attempts were made to remove such people from society by means of repatriation or o cial expulsion. Indeed, at the end of the 19th century – a period in which the nationalisation of society intensifiedd – welfare provision was not guided by criteria of national belonging, but primarily by those of societal ‘desirability’. For French nationals in need of assistance in Geneva, their nationality was no guarantee of receiving support from the French Philanthropic Society. At the same time, however, it is evident from the welfare provision of Geneva’s charitable institutions that their policies and actions were becoming increasingly oriented by the notion of national belonging. Welfare policies were exploited in the pursuit of national integration. Certain contradictions are thus brought to light that were characteristic of Europe in the decades preceding the First World War.