How difficult is it to live in France as an immigrant?

More and more difficult. Especially since lots of french people tend to become racist. The french state ,and other politcal institutions are a great help for people in need ,just be aware that you'll have lots of papers to fill Try to live some dozen kilometers from a big city : you'll have a more peaceful and cheaper life ,but still have access to all you need fairly quickly. I recommand Lyon : It's the second more weathiest city of the country but I think you won't have too much problem in finding a place ,if you begin your research enough early. To finish : you'll need to speak french ,my generation learnt english ,but our parents aren't not that eager to communicate. And they actually rule the work market.

I'll add that beside the painful bureaucracy and the rising intolerance, the rest is up to you. I'll tell you what I have learned living abroad that I feel is valid, regardless of the country you end up in:- be polite, and learn how politeness differs in your new country. You'll be surprised.- in a general manner, behave well and smile. What you don't necessarily realise is that you wear your flag on top of your head, and as judgemental as people are, they'll base their impression of your country on your actions. No, it's not fair, but it's natural, especially if these people have never been abroad themselves. - try to learn the language ; everyone appreciates if you make the effort of learning the language, customs and culture of your new country. It shows you want to be integrated. It goes a long way to be accepted. Even if your skills aren't that good, the fact that you try is more often appreciated than not (and I know I'm not good with the language of my current country, but I try).- the best way to get through the paperwork and crap like that is to get advice from either a local or, if you find, someone who speak your language, but also the local one, and possibly has been through the same problems. He's likely to be negative about it, but let's be honest, I've never seen anyone being happy about the bureaucracy of any country. So don't take that negativity on. It's easy to get depressed when alone in a 'foreign' environment.- don't spend too much time with people of your own country/language group/foreigners as a whole. I know it's easy and a natural thing to do, but trust me, I know what I'm talking about. I saw myself doing it, others doing it around me, and consequences are always the same. You end up isolating yourself from this new home country and its people; your language skills won't improve fast, if at all ; and when times are tough, you'll blame the country for your lack of progress. When in a group, your social needs are fulfilled, so you don't need to talk with anyone else. The group doesn't take much input from the outside, meaning that ideas, comparisons and, in particular, resentment towards that 'outside' builds up very fast. If you want to make your life easy, integrate. Try to get some friends of the target culture, they help you see things from a different point of view. It'll sometimes challenge everything you thought you knew, but if you try to understand it, you'll realise you'll be less likely to hate it. - if you're a student, don't skip classes. Sounds obvious, doesn't it?- if you're a worker, do your best to find a job. It might take a while, but think about it: not only does it feel better to earn what you deserve, but people cannot complain about someone who doesn't live off social welfare or illegal trade :p . Seriously though, it affects people's idea of you a lot.- you can compare things in your head with how it is in your home country, but avoid doing it too much, and absolutely avoid doing it out loud. As Vincent said, try to live outside the big cities (but not too far), that's the best way to be forced to talk to (and make friends with) the locals. That will help you more than you can imagine.I wish you best of luck, France is beautiful and has a lot to offer ; it's worth the pain :)

I was born French, but I agree with Vincent, it is getting more and more difficult to live in France as an immigrant. However, you still have a strong core of people (often left wing) who will be supportive of immigrants (legal and illegal ones). We actually had a situation in the last few months with a Roma girl called Leonarda (L'affaire Leonarda or in English the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dibrani_case). The wave of support she received from her classmates and other young people was impressive. That said, the case was tarnished by dishonest things her father did etc. I will not go into more detail because my point was: while there is an increase in xenophobia/discontent in the population there are people who are accepting and willing to help immigrants. Edit: A good example of this accepting attitude towards immigrants is even more recently the success of the film Samba with actors like Omar Sy & Charlotte Gainsbourg in leading roles. See the trailer below (in French).

Not to contradict what others have been saying, but I'd add a slight provisor...It depends where you're from and the colour of your skin...I'm a red-headed, bearded Englishman who speaks pretty fluent french, and as such I'm regarded as a bit of an oddity and get treated wonderfully...  It's a conversation point, whenever I meet people it's "How long have you been here?", "where do you come from in England?" or "I went to XXX in England 30 years ago when I was a student... Do you know it?"Even the infamous French bureaucracy can be made easier with an English accent and the right attitude... Go in grovelling, apologising for your lack of understanding and stupidity for not understanding their wonderful system and you can get away with murder! (This has also gotten me out of a couple of minor traffic violations!)However, try the same thing if you happen to have a Mediterreanean tan and accent and your response will not be the same...Comparing notes with a Father of one of my son's school friends (another immigrant)...When my son was small, if we were travelling on public transport and started speaking English and French together, we'd get complete strangers coming up to us asking things like, "Is your son Bilingual? Oh, how wonderful! That'll be a great advantage when he's older".My friend on the other hand, if he ever dared speak Arabic to his son on the bus, would be met by evil glares and sotto-voce comments "Learn to speak French!" and "If you can't speak properly you shouldn't be here" Racism does still exist in France - but it's ten times worse for anyone from North Africa or the Middle East than it is for a Northern European French speaker.