Catherine Wihtol de Wenden, author of numerous books and studies on the perception of emigration in France, sets out in this article how images of refugees have evolved since the end of the Second World War. With the creation of the IRO (International Refugee Office) and the adoption of the Geneva Convention on Asylum in 1951, the profiles of refugees have changed, from the Cold War to the present day, and their contrasting images have become part of our collective memory. The fate of refugees is now part of global geopolitics. The prevailing image of refugees as forced immigrants, who have sometimes lost their nationality, especially in the past, is one of sorrow, tinged with fear because they are seen as people apart, fighting complex battles that are often ignored by the host country and who should therefore be distrusted if they are involved in politics.