This paper traces back the psychological effects of the ‘masked exile’ of a Jewish Tunisian family settled in France. The author provides a rich analysis of a sudden and permanent change of nationality, country, language, urban bustle and family environment, following the ‘tunisification of Tunisia’ launched by President Bourguiba at the end of the 1950s. A comparison with the situation of later migrant workers from the Maghreb countries is sketched in the second part of this paper.