L’ultima generazione. Nuove migrazioni italiane in Francia e il modello della circolazione intellettuale

This article has a double rationale. It aims at: i) re-calling a summary review of the main features of the young Italians migration flows towards France during the second half of the twentieth century; and then ii) focusing on the coming of a new and recent migration pattern, gradually emerged during the first and second decade of the new century. The “latest generation” of Italians moving to France seems to represent a new form of migration based on an increasing share of highly educated and highly qualified individuals, who use to leave Italy in order to strengthen their training and professional paths and in view of a circulatory and temporary mobility. Looking at data from the latest Italian migratory outflows, France, distinctively from countries such as UK and opposingly to the global hyper-magnet performed by London, does not attract youngsters in a polarized conditions: large numbers of unemployed young people in search of whatsoever kind of job from one side and qualified graduates and “high-skilled talented brains” from the other. It seems rather to attract the latter above all.