Romain Garbaye is Maître de Conférences at the Université Paris IV-Sorbonne. He obtained his DPhil in Politics at the University of Oxford, and he has held a Jean Monnet post-doctoral fellowship at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies at the European University Institute in Florence. He has published several journal articles and book chapters on the politics of ethnic minorities in European cities.

"This excellent book is a substantial contribution to the field bringing together the urban politics and race policy literatures in a fascinating comparative study. It is an interesting story, well told, and highly instructive for policy-makers and academics alike." Peter John, University of Manchester "This study is important to our understanding of immigrants as political actors, and how national and local political systems shape their access and participation."Martin Schain, New York University "A very welcome addition to the literature on ethnic minority politics. Recommended reading for anyone … interested in ethnic minority political participation. Provides useful insights into the practice and operation of local politics in two very different political systems and as such should be recommended reading for anyone with an interest in local and urban politics in France and Britain."Dr Alistair Clark, University of Birmingham, Local Government Studies

• List of Maps. Foreword by Patrick Weil.Series Editors' Preface.Acknowledgements.Introduction.1 Historical Instititionalism and the Comparison of Local Cases Strategies of Management of Ethnic Conflict and Historical Institutionalism.2 The British Policy Framework: Liberal Citizenship Regime, Depoliticization and the Race-Relationism of British Cities.3 The French Policy Framework: Planned Migration, Xenophobic Politics, and Durable Political Exclusion.4 Birmingham: Inner-City Labour Politics and Pluri-Ethnic Government.5 Lille: Machine Politics and Exclusion of Minorities in the French Municipal System.6 Roubaix: Inclusion Through Neighbourhood Groups and an Open Municipal Game.Conclusion.Appendix: Interviews and Sources.Bibliography.Index.