"A new life away from the stress and grayness of Paris", is how Mathilde describes her new life in Barcelona. So that her husband could follow her career, the Parisian woman preferred to put hers aside and settle here five years ago. At 54, he has many experiences behind him: he lived for 26 years in the French capital, where he worked and had a daughter, and then he expatriated, first in Malta for five years, and then in Barcelona "because of the climate, the quality of life, the proximity to France and the green that was missing in Malta".
When she made the decision to follow her husband, she only had one condition: to feel good in what would be her new home. Little by little, she left her mark, discovered the city and learned Spanish. Today, after five years in the city, she leads the life she herself has chosen “with the sun, the sea, and the tranquility”. Mathilde is part of the 360,000 foreigners present in the Catalan capital, a quarter of the total population, and they give Barcelona the cosmopolitan character that defines it. More than 25% of the French in Spain have chosen Barcelona to establish their lives, according to 2022 data from the National Institute of Statistics.
Locals are often surprised that there are so many French when asked. In the imagination of the average Barcelonan there are not as many French as the numbers indicate. However, the population of Barcelona's northern neighbors has multiplied by 5 in 20 years and is the fourth most present nationality in Barcelona, with 17,876 registered people. The 2022 figures from the Institut d'Estadística de Catalunya place it behind Italy (43,258), Pakistan (22,457) and China (20,832) and just ahead of Colombia (16,679) or Morocco (14,954). An increase of 9.3% between 2021 and 2022, which with the Italian (9.7%) and Colombian (9%) communities are the only three that have continued to increase, despite the systematic decline of the other mentioned nationalities, the most established in Barcelona. The French are not the largest community in Barcelona at the moment, but they are one of the most dynamic.
A key factor that explains why the French have increased in recent years is undoubtedly the pandemic and the generalization of teleworking, which has made us rethink lifestyles, especially among Europeans. For this reason, despite the fact that the number of registered foreigners fell by 2.1% between 2021-2022, the French community —in general, with greater purchasing power than other nationalities— has continued to increase.
Aurélie Chamerois, co-founder of Equinox magazine, created 12 years ago and aimed at the French in Barcelona, has also witnessed this growth, which she describes as "inexorable" and which has resulted in the appearance of numerous companies and services dedicated to French and, of course, in an increase in its audience, year after year. "After a pause during the health crisis, when the French returned to France and there were very few arrivals, since last year we have noticed a fairly large wave of transfers through our various contacts: schools, real estate agencies, French companies or clubs. of business".
A few years ago, Pierre Olivier Bousquet, president of the Barcelona Union of French Abroad and founder of the French Employment Service in Spain, drew up a profile of the French who move to Barcelona. The profile was very heterogeneous: that of an individual in his thirties, with a qualified level, who works in sectors such as engineering, technology or finance. But, nowadays, Bousquet confirms that more and more varied profiles come to Barcelona and that they show a "true integration". It should be said that the professional opportunities in Barcelona are relatively interesting, and explain why the unemployment rate in Catalonia is around 10%, which is 3% less than the national average (12.87%).
This influx of French is also explained by the enormous cross-border mobility. Bousquet explains that, with the Employment Service, the first point of contact was created for French people who settle in Spain and look for work. Its function is also to facilitate this mobility.
The southern Occitania region, bordering Catalonia, has the second highest unemployment rate in France, at almost 10%, that is, almost 3% more than the national average. Therefore, it is much more interesting for these people to come to Catalonia, since they have more guarantees of finding a job, while being only two hours from the French border. Today, we find French people with higher degrees, but also many others without studies, who are looking for a job.
That is the story of Simon Guillot, 26, a nurse who today works as a salesman and who fell in love with the city after a temporary contract in Barcelona, and decided to stay despite the fact that he had the possibility of returning to France and resuming his old job. activity. Simon honestly recounts that French expats can easily find well-paid jobs and, even if the salaries are lower than in France, the comfort of life makes all the difference. "I can go to the beach for a coffee before going to work in the morning and that is priceless," he says.
"Barcelona is a big city but on a human scale. It offers great career opportunities without the hectic pace of most other big European cities, especially Paris," says Aurélie Chamerois. She adds that "the mild climate is very inviting" — more than 300 sunny days a year—, and speaks of a more attractive lifestyle, a unique natural and cultural richness in the world —more than 9 Unesco heritage sites, more than 100 museums, and 19 starred restaurants— According to the different sources consulted by La Vanguardia, they also appreciate a sense of Catalan hospitality (and of the party, they add), an incredible welcome to the LGBTQ community, a more affordable cost of living than in France, an efficient health system , an international airport with many lines for those who have to travel for work and a very beautiful region to escape to for the weekend.
Living in Barcelona also means benefiting from an excellent French education system for your children and for the people who decide to raise their children here. The French Lyceum allows all French-speakers access to a double diploma at the end of the Terminale, the French Baccalauréat and the Spanish Baccalaureate. The French schools in Barcelona are very expensive, but they are worth it, since the results of the baccalaureate are excellent. The Lycée Français de Barcelona is almost 100% successful every year. French schools are also popular with the Spanish elite who send their children to them. However, the waiting list is quite long for them because the French have priority when it comes to enrolment.
Many go to Barcelona for only a few months or years, for studies or just to discover a new country, but some stay for the rest of their lives. In 2022, 8.9% of the French in Barcelona declared that they had lived in the city for more than 15 years. Today, there is a new discourse for many French people: the heavy social climate in their country, which pushes them to flee. Chamerois collects numerous testimonials from French expatriates and confesses that it is a subject that his readers raise very often. Since the yellow vests, the anti-vaccination, and then the pension reform, "French society is very tense, a phenomenon that is accentuated in large cities such as Paris." In addition, many point to the frequent strikes and blockades that paralyze the country, which are another negative point.
In Barcelona, many people are rediscovering a certain softness of life, a social cohesion, a neighborhood life that they no longer had. Without forgetting the health crisis that has accelerated the pace of relocations. On the one hand, because teleworking has become widespread, and many can come to live here without giving up their job in France. And, on the other, this is the most important thing, because people want to prioritize their living environment over their professional career.
Frequenting expatriate networks is usually the main way that many French people have to meet their compatriots in the city, which allows them to exchange experiences of people who have had to face the same situations, such as administrative procedures or learning the language. It is also an opportunity to make new friends and develop a sense of belonging.
So, thanks to the social networks that today give rhythm to daily life, it is very easy to find different events that bring the French together. For example, on Facebook or Telegram it is possible to join groups of French people who are in Barcelona. Also Equinox or Le Petit Journal Français, the two digital media for French expatriates, act as places of cohesion.
However, it is not very common for the French community to show up, except in very special cases such as the past world, when many gathered in some of the most popular bars. But although it may not seem like it, the French have some favorite places in the Catalan capital. For example, the Palo Market Festival, where they try to meet every first weekend of the month in Poblenou, but they also frequent French bars, where they can have Ricard, with examples such as Tres Tíos, recently opened, or La Maison, in the Gothic Quarter .
They also have their favorite neighborhoods. Among the most popular, the Eixample, where the majority of the French community officially settles, according to data from the Barcelona City Council. Ciutat Vella is the second district with the highest concentration. Guillaume, 21 years old and a translation student lives in this district, and tells us that “despite the tourist crowd and the noise, living here offers proximity to the beach and allows me to quickly get to my university”. There is also the district of Sarrià-Sant Gervasi and the neighborhood of Pedralbes, which offer the advantage of being close to the Liceo Francés de Barcelona. Lastly, Gràcia is another of the most attractive neighborhoods as it has pedestrian streets, large terraces and trendy restaurants where French is often heard —also Italian and English, of course— and which is adored by the French.
