In the 60s, the Government encourages Islanders to leave the French West Indies to escape poverty that results from the closure of sugar mills. Lured by the idea of a "dream country", they find life in Europe is not what they had imagined.

They had a dream is above all an imaginary story based on solid facts. It is both a social and a fictional saga, exploring the interconnected lives of two Guadeloupian families to reveal hidden or obscure aspects of French society. In the Sixties, the idea of a 'dream France' appealed to many French West Indians and Reunion Islanders. The BUMIDOM (Bureau for the Development of Migration in Overseas Districts) encouraged them to leave their native lands to escape the poverty caused by the closure of sugar mills, among other factors. Although they were overseas citizens of France, these people (some of whom were the victims of a compulsory emigration policy, while others had spontaneously decided to move to Metropolitan France) found that life there was very different than the one they had imagined.—Happy_Evil_Dude