# tirer son épingle du jeu / se tirer d'affaire



## domh21

Hey guys!
I came across this sentence in a french newspaper article, and was wondering 'what tirer son épingle du jeu' (pull one's pin from the game??) means?
The sentence is about French tourism:
"Seule la capitale semble _tirer son épingle du jeu._ Paris table sur une hausse des arrivées de touristes étrangers...
Its from Le Parisien, which i'm told is often quite 'playful' with language anyway...
Thanks a lot for your help,
Dom

*Moderator note: several threads on the same topic were merged. *


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## sioban

It means "tirer du bénéfice", "s'en sortir"
"to play one's game well" maybe?


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## KittyCatty

Inquisitive question to anyone: Could it translate as "Paris is playing it's cards right?"


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## Seamonkey

Hello,

I think "play your cards right" could fit. Or perhaps "throw your hat into the ring" or something along those lines. I've found another instance of it on the FEVS website:

Si nombre d'enterprises pouvant operer sur les segments les plus valorisants pour nos produits, arrivent ainsi a tirer epingle du jeu. 

Interesting phrase - bet its got fascinating etymology.

Seamonkey


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## mapping

peut-être que ça vient du jeu mikado ?


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## doodlebugger

http://www.mon-expression.info/index.php/tirer-son-epingle-du-jeu


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## edwingill

doodlebugger said:


> http://www.mon-expression.info/index.php/tirer-son-epingle-du-jeu


 The explanation on this site would be to get out while the going is good. It does not seem to jibe with the context.


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## mapping

edwingill said:


> The explanation on this site would be to get out while the going is good. It does not seem to jibe with the context.


 
You are right. Nowadays "tirer son épingle du jeu" means making out alright.


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## Seamonkey

Thank you for your help everyone. Very interesting info on that website. It's time to leave work, and the boss is due back from abroad in half and hour, so I think I'll tirer mon épingle du jeu.

Merci


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## jrelland

Bonjour

De mon point de vue, l'explication du site est bien d'actualité et adapté à l'article sur Paris.

En fait, cette expression indique plutôt que l'on a su limiter les dégâts par rapport à une situation ou par rapport à d'autres  personnes qui  sont confrontées au même problème. 

Dans le cas de l'exemple sur Paris, il s'agit en fait d'exprimer l'idée que, dans le cadre d'une baisse du nombre des touristes étrangers, contrairement aux autres villes, Paris a su les attirer.  Et le commentateur souligne qu'au lieu de seulement limiter cette perte de touristes, Paris pense en augmenter le nombre.  


I think the définition from the web site is correct and suitable for your article.

In fact, this expression means we managed to limit the damages in regard to the situation or others persons who are facing the same problem.

In this example with Paris, the journalist says: In a general trend of lost of foreigner tourists, Paris manage not only to limit this negative trend but  Paris thinks that this trend will be positive.
I do not know the article but that could suggest too that the others towns do not success as well as Paris. 

By the way, thank you in advance if you can provide us this expression in English.


Regards
----
dryat120


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## clodo

I think 'Make the most of a bad situation.'   'To (get going) go while the going is good.', 'salvage a bad situation'  have something of 'tirer son épingle du jeu.'  but these could not include the nuance that one might be able to turn the situation around enough that one could come out better than one started.   "To snatch victory out of the jaws of defeat' might bring this nuance in.  
PS:  'The other towns do not SUCEED as well as Paris.'  There is no verb 'to success'--only 'to succeed'.


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## jrelland

Thank you for correcting my bad English
I get used to use each noum as a verb and vice versa.

About the translation of the expression, I thing you are on the right way.


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## clodo

Ce n'était guère 'bad English' plutôt un très petit lapsus.  J'aimerais beaucoup parler Français aussi bien que vous parlez (parliez?) anglais.

Et 'thing' pour 'think' n'est même pas un lapsus mais une faute de frappe!


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## mieumieu

It actually means to pull out of a bad situation before it's too late.


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## mfchambourcy

Hello,
Could someone help me translate "tirer son épingle du jeu" from French to English ?
Thanks in advance.
MFAIDHERBE


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## alacant

I am sure they could if you post this in the french/english forum!


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## edwingill

to get out while the going is good


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## Arrius

or just withdraw from some enterprise undertaken in the company of others.
"


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## victoria1

to play one's game well or to extricate oneself


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## tribones821

I read this in Le Point: "La démission de Franz Müntefering fragilise l'alliance entre chrétiens-démocrates et sociaux-démocrates. Seule Angela Merkel tire son épingle du jeu."  It makes me think that either "played her cards right" or "made the most of a bad situation" works.  I think that in this situation you might be able to say "made it out alive/unscathed".  What do some francophones think?


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## jrelland

Hello

"played her cards right" sounds good for me but not "made the most of a bad situation".
In the last case you should say "made the better among the others ones of a bad situation" (if it's English ;-)).

With the French expression "tirer son épingle du jeu" you want to express that you play better than the others ones.

Otherwise, you say : "il s'en est bien tirer". In this case, you do not want to compare with others  persons, just to say that the result is better than expected.

I hope you will understand the nuance, despite of my bad English.

Regards jrelland


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## tribones821

Merci pour son explication, donc on peut la traduire: "Only Angela Merkel emerged from the mess/uproar/etc. unscathed"


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## mysterio626

I was wondering whether the expression "tirer son épingle du jeu" could be used somewhat interchangeably with "se tirer d'affaire" to mean "to make out OK / to get by."

Thus, would this example be appropriate? 
_"Bien qu'elle ne comprenne pas le français, elle *tirait **son épingle du jeu / se tirait d'affaire* en France pendant les vacances."_ 

I guess the former would sound too sophisticated in speech but _not_ in _writing_? Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!


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## SwissPete

*Tirer son épingle du jeu* is explained here: http://www.linternaute.com/expression/langue-francaise/255/tirer-son-epingle-du-jeu/

whereas *se tirer d’affaire* means to manage on one’s own.

So I don't think the two expressions are interchangeable.


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## trompelamort

mysterio626 said:


> I was wondering whether the expression "tirer son épingle du jeu" could be used somewhat interchangeably with "se tirer d'affaire" to mean "to make out OK / to get by."
> 
> Thus, would this example be appropriate?
> _"Bien qu'elle ne comprenne pas le français, elle *tirait **son épingle du jeu / se tirait d'affaire* en France pendant les vacances."_
> 
> I guess the former would sound too sophisticated in speech but _not_ in _writing_? Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!


 

Hi, yes both expressions mean something like "get out of a bad situation"
but i think "tirer son épingle du jeu" contains the idea of doing it skillfully, and "se tirer d'affaire" just means that you got out of the situation, whatever the way.
In your example, it sounds very strange, not sophisticated, even if not in writing.
In your example, i think you should use "elle arrivait à se débrouiller" ( translation : she could get by)

here are examples for tirer son épingle du jeu/se tirer d'affaire :

"elle n'était pas aussi belle que ses soeurs, mais son charme faisait qu'elle arrivait à tirer son épingle du jeu"

"La bombe a explosé à 2m, il a passé 6 mois à l'hôpital et a perdu ses deux jambes, mais il est tiré d'affaire à présent"


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## wildan1

_tirer son épingle du jeu -  to finesse something_

_se tirer d'affaire - to muddle through a situation_


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## mysterio626

Thank you all for your input!  I appreciate them greatly, and I now see the differences in meaning! My dictionary actually lists the _same_ definition for both; so I see how _tirer son épingle du jeu _gives the idea of getting out of a situation/problem in a, more or less, skillful manner.


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## garotopunkrock

Hi everyone !

I read the definition of this expression, "tirer l'épingle du jeu", but I've failed to find an equivalent expression in English. Does anybody have a clue ?

Thanks


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## deeper

He played the game skillfully (tiré du dico de l'aglais courant)


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## wildan1

_to finesse something_ (in AE pronounced fuh NESS). Originally a term from the game of bridge, it is used widely in the same way the French phrase is used.


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## WordSleuth

I had to translate this expression in a different context and also opted for "come out unscathed." 

However, as the site "mon expression" (like posted above) mentions, writers seem to be using the expression to indicate victory now. The site states that this is incorrect usage, and I agree, but the fact that some people use it that way does complicate our work! I'll have to contact my client to see if the intended meaning was "come out victorious" or "come out unscathed."


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## jcareen

Qu'est ce que l'expression "Tirer son épingle du jeu" veut dire en anglais? Merci si vous savez.


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## Pinairun

jcareen said:


> Qu'est ce que l'expression "Tirer son épingle du jeu" veut dire en anglais? Merci si vous savez.


 
_Tirer son épingle du jeu_ proviendrait du XVe siècle. On dit que les fillettes jouaient à un jeu qui consistait à placer des épingles dans un cercle dessiné près d'un mur. Elles devaient ensuite les faire sortir avec une balle en réussissant à ce que celle-ci frappe le mur et vienne ensuite ricocher dans le cercle. Au minimum, il fallait récupérer ce que l'on avait mis en jeu. Ainsi,  _tirer son épingle du jeu_ *signifie que l'on réussit à sauver sa cause, ses intérêts propres.  **Récupérer ce que l'on a mis en jeu.*

Pas en Anglais, desolée.


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## joaopaolo

http://www.ccdmd.qc.ca/ri/expressions/repertoire_fr.php

This normally excellent site gives "come up smelling of roses" which I've never heard of and can't recommend. I do recommend the site, though...

It sounds almost like "breaking even" or "getting out / quitting while your still ahead."

Wait for another opinion.


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## broglet

'save the day' is possible


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## edwingill

"to get out while the going is good"


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## irisa

Hi there, 
Make the best of a bad situation works well. Also wanted to add that "come up smelling of roses" is also totally acceptable and widely used in the English language, the idea being that whilst everyone else maybe wallowing in the mud or worse, at least someone has managed to make the best of it and rise up like a phoenix, smelling of roses.


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## broglet

irisa - I think a phoenix smells of ashes


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## Chimel

Someone suggested in this thread "to limit the damage". I wonder if this is not the best translation in most cases.

In modern French, "tirer son épingle du jeu" implies that you do better than expected, better than others do, that you manage to cope with a difficult situation... I want to stress that, if it's a victory, it's a very small and relative one. Some translations suggested here go perhaps too far in the meaning of "great victory".

Suppose that, in an opinion poll, the popularity rating of nearly all ministers take a dive by at least 5%, except for the Prime Minister. If a paper writes "Le Premier Ministre tire son épingle du jeu", it may imply that his rating goes 1 or 2 % higher, or is stable, or even goes down by, say, 1 ou 2%, which is a fairly good result in these circumstances. That's why I would go for "limit the damage".


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## franc 91

managed to come through it without too much trouble?


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## sound shift

"To put in a creditable performance"?
"To give a good account of oneself"?


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## franc 91

No it's not that - it's like someone who's been through a rugby scrum and come out the other side holding the ball - there's been some competition to get through beforehand


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## sound shift

Ok, then it looks like "to come out of the situation/it relatively unscathed" to me, but I suspect there is plenty of life left in this thread yet.


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## catay

franc 91 said:


> No it's not that - it's like someone who's been through a rugby scrum and come out the other side holding the ball - there's been some competition to get through beforehand


possibly:
"...managed to come out ahead," meaning it was a slim victory.


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## wildan1

franc 91 said:


> No it's not that - it's like someone who's been through a rugby scrum and come out the other side holding the ball - there's been some competition to get through beforehand


In this case I might say _he did better than expected_


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## KiriX

What about "to get through well" or "to get away with" ?


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## hounze

Very good input from all of you here! Thanks for the help. I'm translating the 2010 results for a company and the title is "EC tire son épingle du jeu", the idea being here that, despite a difficult year for just about everyone in this industry, EC has managed to have a very respectable year (not their best ever, but a good year nonetheless). I do think the origin of the word has something to do with the Mikado game, where you can imagine someone deftly extracting their "épingle" from the jumble on the floor "sans dégats" - i.e., without moving any of the others or losing out in the process. 
The best I've come up with so far for the title of my article is "EC remains on track" or "...keeps a steady course", the idea being in rough waters, the boat continues to plow ahead diligently. But I'm hardly 100% satisfied at this point.
Thanks again to all!


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## franc 91

Voici ce que j'ai trouvé comme origine pour cette expression -
Tirer son épingle du jeu proviendrait du XVe siècle. On dit que les fillettes jouaient à un jeu qui consistait à placer des épingles dans un cercle dessiné près d'un mur. Elles devaient ensuite les faire sortir avec une balle en réussissant à ce que celle-ci frappe le mur et vienne ensuite ricocher dans le cercle. Au minimum, il fallait récupérer ce que l'on a mis en jeu. Ainsi, "tirer son épingle du jeu" signifie que l'on a sauvé sa cause, ses interêts propres.


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## broglet

hi franc 91 - see post #25


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## WillHelpIfICan

*to come up trumps*


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## Arrius

WillHelpIfICan said:


> *to come up trumps*


 
I like it! Not only does it keep the metaphor in a gaming context but also implies that more than just doing well, the company outsmarted its competitors (trump = _atout_):

*tirer son épingle du jeu retirer son épingle du jeu*

Bien s'en sortir dans une situation confuse, profiter d'une situation, se distinguer, se désolidariser, s'en sortir (alors que d'autres n'y arrivent pas), sortir d'une affaire sans dommage - fréquence : 10 (Dictionnaire d' argot)


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## broglet

... or another gaming metaphor: 'Eurocopter ahead of the game in 2010'


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## whackerican

The phrase is used  here in the following sentence,
"Parmi les nombreuses et intéressantes dossiers préparés par [plusieurs cabinets d'architectes], c'est le studio d'architecture danois Big Architects qui a finalement su _tirer son épingle du jeu_, offrant un parfait équilibre entre les espaces d'exposition et l'esthétique du lieu d'accueil."


In this contexts and AE translation would seem to be "came out OK/ahead".
In a general context the phrase "to finess it" might also work.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the translation here is clearly not "to get out while the getting is good."


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## hounze

whackerican said:


> The phrase is used  here in the following sentence,
> "Parmi les nombreuses et intéressantes dossiers préparés par [plusieurs cabinets d'architectes], c'est le studio d'architecture danois Big Architects qui a finalement su _tirer son épingle du jeu_, offrant un parfait équilibre entre les espaces d'exposition et l'esthétique du lieu d'accueil."
> 
> 
> In this contexts and AE translation would seem to be "came out OK/ahead".
> In a general context the phrase "to finess it" might also work.
> 
> Correct me if I'm wrong, but the translation here is clearly not "to get out while the getting is good."



Funny, but in this case, you almost get the impression they mean that Big Architects "found the best compromise".


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## Chimel

You're right, Whackerican: while the most current meaning is, I think, "to limit the damage" (see my post #31), it can also be used in a meaning close to "jouer finement, se montrer adroit".

In fact, there is always an underlying idea of: to play it so skilfully that you avoid the worst. Here, the "worst" is the eventuality of losing the architecture contest.


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## sound shift

Maybe "Only Paris is holding its own", "Only Paris is making  a fist of it".


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## sm22281

Hi, I need help understanding and translating this expression.  This is used in a paragraph discussing a small racing car (Formula 2) performing well in competition.  Here is the sentence which I am wrestling with:


> Elles tirent également leur épingle du jeu sur des circuits exigeants en matière de tenue de route ou d’agilité.


Although I am not familiar with the specific expression, I figure this to mean that the cars are surpassing expectations by performing in a stellar way.


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## franc 91

They manage to come out on top - they perform surprisingly well (suggestions)


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## Micia93

the WR suggests : "to get out while the going is good" and also "to do nicely for oneself"


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## sm22281

Thank you!  I agree with franc 91 who supported my own interpretation.  Yay!


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## Bonjules

...Tirer son épingle du jeu ....= 'pull it off'?


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## copykatparis

HI all, an old thread and I'm sorry I don't have the time to read all the answers -- I'm using "to come out on top" as an alternative in the following context on the USSR under Brezhnev:
"...un ralentissement économique où seule la nomenklatura, une petite caste de privilégiés, tire son épingle du jeu."
"...a sluggish economy where only the nomenklatura, the small elite caste of the privileged, came out on top."

Hope that helps!


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## franc 91

In a more general sense, I suggest - he/she/they managed to get away with it (without getting caught out/found out)


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## anotherlangue

If we assume that everybody in "le jeu" is playing to the same rules, I would suggest (depending on context) "make the most of the circumstances"


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## bernardette

Often: to play your cards right.


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## Barbanellie

"Tirer son épingle du jeu" means to come out on top in a difficult situation, or at least to come out at an advantage.  For example, someone trying to argue a point who manages to come to a compromise to his advantage.

From my Multi-dictionnaire de la langue française: "Se tirer habilement d'une affaire difficile"


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## Itisi

Tirer *son* épingle du jeu, Pour moi, ça veut dire ceci :

Dictionnaire WR :
*tirer son épingle du jeu*
extricate yourself, get out while the going is good, pull out _v_


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## caver

Bonjour,

Dans le contexte de cette phrase, l'expression, a-t-elle toujours le meme sens: Certains étrangers, qui *tirent leur épingle du jeu*, entretiennent le mythe de la méritocratie républicaine, mais ni le Quai d'Orsay ni le ministère de l'Intérieur n'ont osé casser le mythe. 

Il s’agit du phénomène des immigrés qui risquent leurs vies pour arriver en France et qui croient toujours qu’ils seront bien traités là-bas. 

'Some migrants, who play their cards right, still believe they will be well treated in France?'

'Some migrants believe that *if* they play their cards right, they will be well treated in France'

Que pensez-vous?


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## Chimel

Qui tirent leur épingle du jeu: qui arrivent à bien s'en sortir.

Il faudrait une expression qui met davantage l'accent sur le résultat obtenu alors que _to play their cards right_ évoque plutôt la méthode, la manière de "jouer le jeu".


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## franc 91

If you hadn't pointed out that 'certains étrangers' meant migrants, it wouldn't have been obvious what was meant by this sentence. I suggest a paraphrase to make it more explicit - The small number of migrants, who do succeed in getting here and managing to make a new life for themselves, in spite of all the obstacles put in their way, keep alive the myth.........


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## jekoh

franc 91 said:


> If you hadn't pointed out that 'certains étrangers' meant migrants,


I don't think it does.


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## Michelvar

The meaning of this part of the sentence is not really related to migrants. The idea is that some people having family and friends in foreign countries, whatever the way they came to France, happen to make a successful life for themselves. That leads their relatives and friends, abroad, to think that anyone has the opportunity to do the same in France, which is no longer the case.


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## franc 91

Je cite - Il s'agit du phénomène des immigrés qui risquent leurs vies pour arriver en France.


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## Michelvar

Oui, certains migrants risquent leurs vies pour arriver en France, parce que la réussite de certains étrangers installés en France, qui n'ont rien à voir avec le phénomène actuel des migrants, leur donne l'espoir de pouvoir réussir de la même manière. Le texte est relatif aux migrants, mais cette partie de la phrase ne l'est pas. 

"Certains étrangers, qui tirent leur épingle du jeu, entretiennent le mythe de la méritocratie républicaine", ce ne sont pas des migrants illégaux risquant leur vie pour traverser la méditerranée, ceux-la sont dans des camps et n'ont pas encore eu le temps de réussir en Europe.


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## jekoh

Les personnes données en exemple dans l'article ne sont pas des migrants mais plutôt des immigrés. Ce sont eux qui « _tirent leur épingle du jeu »_, ce qui laisse croire à d'autres groupes sociaux qu'ils pourront en faire autant.


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## caver

J'ai mal compris la phrase alors,

Merci beaucoup pour votre aide!


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