Abstract
Traduction de Alexandra Poméon O’Neill et Katherine Booth<br />Based on fieldwork carried out in northern France, this article looks at associations and activists—both volunteers and paid employees—working for the cause of foreign nationals, and seeks to understand their role in the reception and defence of these populations through the figure of the “intermediary”. By analysing local configurations of intermediation and delegation, the article shows that associations and activists constitute intermediary figures between foreign nationals, the state and migration policies. The methods used by activists contribute to the transmission of knowledge, skills, categories and norms on and about immigration: activists appear to be both legal experts and links in the chain of migration policies. In turn, the position of intermediary says something about activists, the dilemmas they face and the demarcation strategies they sometimes employ.