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The relationship between the French Parti socialiste (PS) (Socialist Party) and immigration activists have often been discussed by the political and sociological literature through the lens of conflict or instrumentalization. While these research studies made it possible to debunk the mythicized role of the PS in the political socialization of descendants of postcolonial immigration, they are generally characterized by macro-sociological approaches. They neglect the richness of debates and internal controversies, the diversity of partisan scales (local, federal, and national), the forms of multi-engagement, and the numerous activist movements at play, which explain how PS activists and leaders progressively evolved from a classist and Third-Worldist interpretation of immigrant movements to a culturalist approach. Building upon a critical assessment of past fieldwork studies carried out between 1990 and 2000, and enriched by new sources drawn from the content analysis of the PS press, this paper aims to shed light on the factors, circumstances, and events that have contributed to this “shift” from a social interpretation of the struggles of immigration to a culturalist understanding focused on the “Islam-secularism” conflict.