Abstract EN:

Economic, political, demographic and cultural pressures have brought about a massive transfer of populations from "the south" to "the north". Thus, large groups, with differing cultures, find themselves in a situation of "cultural shock". We put forward the theory that the time spent in France favoured the adoption of new family values amongst the congolese students living in France during the years 1983-1985, according to their rank in the phratry, the milieu from wich they originated (urban as opposed to rural) and the length of time spent in France. This change in values has led to intra - and interpersonal conflicts. This theory has been only partly substantiated, since the time spent in France does not encourage a total acceptance of the french family values, some restraints remaining, depending on the above-mentioned variables, not without some suffering and conflicts. Finally, to resolve these conflicts, negotiation and compromise are more frequent than rupture. In this study, it has appeared clear that the group as an object of emotional investment plays an important role: the exterior prestigious group as (France), keenly sought after, fantasized at first, then the interior group (con- go) restored, and later reinvested. Thus it is a process of maturing, comparable to that of the crisis of adolescence, in its thematic, search for identity, rejection of origins and the ideal elsewhere.