Commuters threatening Luxembourg?

(CS) One in four Luxembourg residents perceives cross-border workers as a threat to Luxembourg identity, while over 80% think the Luxembourg economy depends on the foreign commuters.

Certain stereotypes about the “frontaliers,” the workforce flocking to Luxembourg from the Greater Region every day, seem to be persistent, a study by social and intercultural centre CEFIS finds.

The majority of 1,006 residents polled finds that the frontaliers profit from working in Luxembourg, but that the majority of them don't put an effort into learning Luxembourgish and don't have an interest in the country.

Some 59% of those questioned even believe that Luxembourg is being overrun by the cross-border commuters, and 33% feel they are stealing jobs from those living in the Grand Duchy.

The study finds that the level of prejudice increases among residents with a lower level of education and social standing, leading CEFIS to conclude that campaigns to further social integration and counter racism need to be aimed particularly at these groups within the population.

Contact with foreigners in everyday life

The vast majority of residents participating in the poll said they encounter foreigners in their every day life, from shopping (82%) and work (57%) to seeing them around their village (62%) and counting them among their friends (73%).

The relationship to foreign nationals is valued as good or even very good in most cases. However, 8% deem the contact with foreigners in commerce as bad or very bad, a fact mainly attributed to a lack of knowledge of the Luxembourg language among shopkeepers.

Trust in foreigners rising

On the whole trust in people has risen over the past years. While in 1999 only 26% said they generally trusted others, this number has increased to 41% in 2010.

The levels of trust rise with the level of education, but were also found to be different among members of different nationalities.

Belgian, French and German nationals are the most trusting, while 39% of Luxembourgers trust others. The least trusting were Portuguese.

Who do Luxembourg residents trust most? Some 93% state they would trust Luxembourg nationals, and 89% put trust in their neighbours. Trust levels for Portuguese (84%) and French (78%) are also high. Only 51% trust people from ex-Yugoslavia and 55% trust the asylum seekers in Luxembourg.

Creating spaces for encounter

As a way to tackle the problem of prejudice against foreigners and cross-border commuters, CEFIS proposes to open spaces for encounter, for example by putting an emphasis on diversity at the work space and reducing segmentation by nationality or social background in all areas, from work to school and in the communes.

Out of the 1,006 residents polled, 574 were Luxembourg nationals, and 160 Portuguese/Cap-Verdien, 154 French/German/Belgian and 188 from other nationalities.

Participants were between 15 and over 65 years old from a variety of educational backgrounds and income margins.