Support for Migrants as a Form of Territorial Struggle: Endogenous Solidarity in the Roya Valley

From 2015, in an attempt to cross the militarised border between Italy and France, migrants crossed mountains and rural territories. The Roya Valley, a marginal and peripheral rural location just near Ventimiglia, became a focal place for migratory routes towards Northern Europe. The reaction from a part of local inhabitants—mostly neorurals inspired by the principles of de-growth and the search for alternative realities—hosting the migrants in their own homes and supporting them in the continuation of their journey, consolidated in response to the emerging problem affecting their territory. Thus, endogenous solidarity with migrants becomes part of a territorial struggle in which citizens want to have a say in the decisions affecting their valley. This chapter arises from ethnographic research based on field immersion and participation in local life; the main techniques used are participant observations in multiple contexts of valley life and the collection of oral sources.