“Thanks for Getting Me in Touch with Local Politicians!”

Abstract

Abstract This article focuses on the political engagement and professionalization of French youth of Chinese origin through a case study of the Association of Young Chinese in France (Association des Jeunes Chinois de France, AJCF), acting as a springboard toward political professionalization. It relies on several qualitative studies recently carried out in the Paris region, with French associative and political actors of Chinese origin. After analyzing the raising of awareness regarding anti-Asian racism as a key factor in the political socialization and engagement of French Chinese youth, the article shows that being a leading member of the AJCF allows one to build a social network of contacts among political actors and affirms that this acquired political capital is one of the catalysts for being identified and recruited by political authorities at the local level, as a step toward the development of an electoral career.