This paper examines the lexical structures of racist discourse and their realization in French political texts on migration, representing the spectrum of political parties in the 1980s. The two main underlying cognitive schemas are those of 'closed space' and 'physical movement', generating both notions of otherness, difference and penetration, assimilation. These lexical networks contribute to internal and intertextual coherence. The difference between the political parties in relation to migration chiefly lies in the degree of explitness their texts display. Hypotheses are put forward regarding the nature of racist discourse and the European political evolution.