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<p>This study explores the experiences of Italian restaurant employees in Paris during the COVID-19 lockdown, drawing on 47 semi-structured biographical interviews conducted between March 2020 and the end of 2023. The pandemic profoundly disrupted labor migration, particularly in the hospitality sector, where emergency measures severely affected restaurant activity. As a result, migration projects became more uncertain and increasingly unequal, while visa suspensions disproportionately impacted non-European workers. While existing research on COVID-19 has emphasized the vulnerability of migrants in precarious conditions, less attention has been paid to intra-European mobility. Focusing on Italian workers in the French foodservice sector, this study examines how the pandemic reshaped their migration trajectories and the fluidity of their paths, questioning both structural and individual factors influencing decisions to anchor in France or return to Italy. The findings show that Italian foodservice workers’ experiences cannot be reduced to narratives of defeat. Rather, advantages and disadvantages varied according to migrants’ intersectional positions, length of residence, and access to resources in both countries. During the crisis, French welfare policies supported the anchoring of Italian migrants while simultaneously allowing for diverse forms of “liquid mobility.” However, these trajectories were not uniformly fluid. The paper therefore argues that the concept of liquidity should be refined by introducing the notion of a “diversity of density” to better capture differentiated migratory experiences.</p>

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Contrasting Experiences of Liquidity: Italian Restaurant Workers in Paris During the COVID-19 Pandemic

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年1月24日

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  • Martina Vignoli

摘要

This study explores the experiences of Italian restaurant employees in Paris during the COVID-19 lockdown, drawing on 47 semi-structured biographical interviews conducted between March 2020 and the end of 2023. The pandemic profoundly disrupted labor migration, particularly in the hospitality sector, where emergency measures severely affected restaurant activity. As a result, migration projects became more uncertain and increasingly unequal, while visa suspensions disproportionately impacted non-European workers. While existing research on COVID-19 has emphasized the vulnerability of migrants in precarious conditions, less attention has been paid to intra-European mobility. Focusing on Italian workers in the French foodservice sector, this study examines how the pandemic reshaped their migration trajectories and the fluidity of their paths, questioning both structural and individual factors influencing decisions to anchor in France or return to Italy. The findings show that Italian foodservice workers’ experiences cannot be reduced to narratives of defeat. Rather, advantages and disadvantages varied according to migrants’ intersectional positions, length of residence, and access to resources in both countries. During the crisis, French welfare policies supported the anchoring of Italian migrants while simultaneously allowing for diverse forms of “liquid mobility.” However, these trajectories were not uniformly fluid. The paper therefore argues that the concept of liquidity should be refined by introducing the notion of a “diversity of density” to better capture differentiated migratory experiences.