1While sub-Saharan immigrants represent 1% of the French population, they account for 40% of new HIV cases detected. For a long time, this fact came as no surprise. As the African continent is particularly affected by the AIDS virus, it made sense that more cases would be found in migrants from this continent. This obvious fact however turned out to be wrong, as demonstrated by researchers in 2015 after they studied migrants’ life courses. To this end, they applied tools developed by demographers to the health sector in order to carry out a statistical analysis of professional or family backgrounds. They interviewed approximately 2,500 African migrants and coded their responses for quantitative comparison purposes.

Furnished hotel in Belsunce, a district with a strong presence of new migrants, Marseille.

2Against all odds, the results showed that one third to one half of Africans living in France with the HIV virus were infected post-migration, i.e. on French soil. The virus is often transmitted in the early years, when the migrant’s situation is precarious. Lack of housing is a major risk factor, particularly in women who sometimes enter into transactional sex relationships. In addition, women who were infected with the AIDS virus in France are four times more likely to have been subjected to sexual violence.

3These results were used by the French Ministry of Health to better target prevention and screening campaigns. The methodological innovation has gained widespread acceptance, as it was applied to other research fields and showed, for example, that in Cameroon physically or mentally disabled people are at greater risk of HIV infection, with marked differences between men and women.