National identity politics in France have taken an interesting turn since the 1980s, a period accentuated by social movements led by youth of immigration who self-asserted in terms of ethnonational origins. Now French-born or -raised youth, stigmatized by those origins, self-identify as French, although they are not so perceived in French society. Drawing on a multi-year ethnographic study of African-origin Muslim girls, this article explores how social structures, in particular national education, simultaneously assimilate and exclude these youth. This study provides insights into the mechanisms of cultural transmission and racialization through statist institutions. (Contains 3 notes.)