The Association Nationale des Villes et Territoires Accueillants: The Becoming of an Activist City Network

This paper focuses on the Association Nationale des Villes et des Territoires Accueillants (ANVITA), a network of local authorities created in France to support local reception policies for asylum seekers. Drawing on qualitative research undertaken with members of the network and its secretariat, the study first explores the socio-historical conditions that facilitated the emergence of this network. Then, it highlights the processes of standardization and internationalization shaping local actions to facilitate the welcoming of newcomers. In the third part, this paper examines how the coexistence of large, medium, and small cities with very different objectives and capacities within the same network influence the agenda of the ANVITA. Finally, this paper contributes to understanding the real capacity of local authorities to play a role in migration governance and to challenge established norms of action and security-oriented logic produced by national and international authorities.