International migration is a multifaceted phenomenon : demographic, economic, geopolitical, legal, historical, anthropological, ethical and rhetorical. François Héran's background (detailed in the online CV) ranges from philosophy to demography to anthropology. He has practiced field observation and archive exploration abroad (Spain, Bolivia, Netherlands), conducted national and international surveys at INED and INSEE, sat on key institutions (Office français de l'immigration et de l'intégration, Musée national d'histoire de l'immigration, European Research Council juries), lectured at several French and foreign institutions.

The study of international migration is more than just counting people. It must also grasp the dynamics of change, make room for the lived experience of migrants, and move from description to explanation, while recognizing that in the field of human migration, data is inevitably fluid and imperfect : we need to be able to reason, if necessary, on the basis of orders of magnitude. But these are largely unknown. The aim of the lecture is to convey a sense of proportion and evolution in the most pedagogical way possible.

The lecture covers all forms of international migration : from South to North, East to West, North to North and South to South. Its aim is to deal with the issue in a factual manner, drawing on the best available sources. The lecture attempts to clarify the issue by distinguishing between ordinary and extraordinary forms of migration. On the one hand, there is the emergency influx of people in response to the sudden escalation of conflicts ; on the other, there is the regular issuing of residence permits for economic or human rights reasons, such as the right to marry a foreigner or to live with a family.

The Migrations and Societies chair renews its theme each year, addressing in turn the factors of migration (2018-2019), the challenges of integration and discrimination (2019-2020), migration policies around the world (2020-2021), the rhetoric of the migration debate (2021-2022), the law on foreigners (2022-2023), and the interactions between colonization and migration (2023-2024). The final two years of the Chair (2024-2026) will focus on the links between religion and migration.

With the active assistance of a research engineer (currently Ms Özge Biner), the eight or nine lecture sessions are accompanied by as many seminar sessions, but at a different pace (fortnightly). Two personalities are invited to each session, covering a wide range of disciplines. Many of them are affiliated with the Institut Convergences Migrations, founded by the professor in 2017 following a competition under the Programme des investissements d'avenir, in partnership with eight research institutes, universities or major establishments, including the CNRS and the Collège de France (see website).