Many refugees use France as a transit country
As reported by RFI (Radio France Internationale), in September last year, when at the Brussels summit European leaders allocated quotas for accepting migrants arriving in Greece and Italy (by the way, quotas greatly underestimated compared to actual arrival numbers), France committed to accepting 24,000 people. Soon after, François Hollande announced that he was ready to urgently accept another thousand refugees who arrived from Austria to Munich, where there was a catastrophic shortage of spaces in migrant centers. But only 600 people expressed a desire to come to France. 'None of the refugees rushed to the buses traveling from Munich to the Paris region,' wrote Le Figaro journalist observing the scene. 'Migrants are not eager to come to France.'
Recent events in the Calais refugee camp have once again confirmed this trend: migrants living there dream of leaving France by any means, sometimes even at the cost of their own lives. Why has France ceased to be a country attractive for immigration? Here are just a few main reasons.
Long Bureaucratic Procedures
According to migrants' own accounts, as well as public statements by migration service workers and numerous refugee rights associations, the asylum procedure in France is much longer than in neighboring countries. On average, it drags on for two years, during which the migrant is not given permission to work and must live on benefits in a special refugee reception center he is not allowed to leave.
After French Prime Minister Manuel Valls promised last autumn to reform the migration service to speed up the asylum procedure, it (so far only in words) should take no more than nine months. For comparison: in the UK, the matter is resolved in six months.
France Refuses Migrants More Often
The percentage of asylum denials in France is much higher than among its neighbors. For example, according to Eurostat, in 2014 the UK granted political asylum to 39% of applicants, France to 22%.
Refusals of asylum are the main reason why migrants arriving in Europe become illegal. Some remain in Europe after being denied, others do not even apply.
It's Harder to Live in France
It is much harder for migrants to survive in France than, for example, in the UK. This is said by many refugees who live for months in tents in the French city of Calais to get a chance to cross the English Channel. First, in the UK it is much easier to find work: when hired, no documents are required, and the penalty for illegal work is much milder than in France.
And the overall economic state of the country speaks for itself: Germany's unemployment rate is less than 5%, the UK's 5.6%, France's 10.4%. Moreover, the labor market in the first two countries is much more flexible, which is very important for those who go to the job exchange every day hoping to find any work. What do newly arrived migrants primarily do there? They look for work as janitors, cleaners, restaurant cooks, loaders, and so on. In France, any position can only be obtained after long queues and presenting a ton of certificates and paperwork.
'France is pleasant to visit, but not to live there,' quoted a French TV channel the words of a 26-year-old engineer from Syria who dreams of obtaining asylum in Germany.
Journalist Florence Trintignac on France 3 explained why France is not the most enticing place on earth for migrants: "The numbers are relentless: France ranks only 4th in the refugees' 'popularity rating', far behind Germany, Sweden, and Denmark. This is primarily explained by family reasons: most refugees are Syrians, many of whose relatives previously settled in Germany or Sweden. And it is quite natural that families want to reunite.
The second reason is bureaucratic red tape: on average, the asylum procedure lasts two years. During this time, refugees have no right to work and very often have no housing. While in Germany and Sweden, the waiting times for an asylum request response are much shorter, and reception conditions are much more favorable. Finally, the issue of economic feasibility plays a role: most refugees are educated people, specialists, and they want to settle, they want to work. And from this perspective, Sweden and Germany are also more attractive than France."
Difficult to Get Housing in France
The conditions for obtaining housing in France also seem unattractive to migrants. According to experts, only a third of migrants arriving in the country are housed in specially created centers. The rest have to make do with abandoned houses or live in shantytowns like the 'Calais Jungle'. Currently, in northern Paris along the ring road, one such cardboard town has sprung up, housing about a hundred people, mostly from Syria. But even if some of them are lucky enough to get into a migrant reception center, after officially obtaining refugee status they lose the right to stay in such a center.
Journalist Guillaume Daret from France 2 explains what asylum seekers in France are entitled to and whether they really receive more help than poor homeless French people (as claimed by the French far-right): 'All asylum seekers have the right to a place in one of the Reception Centers for Asylum Applicants. The only problem is that there are not enough places...'
Now, about whether an asylum seeker is entitled to financial assistance. The answer: yes, they are, in two specific cases. If a refugee lives in a reception center, they receive a monthly allowance that varies from 91 euros per month (for a single person) to 718 euros (for a family of six). If a refugee does not live in a reception center, they receive a temporary allowance (until housing is found) of 340 euros per month. As for medical care, asylum seekers are entitled to standard health insurance (CMU). And finally, refugee children, like children of French citizens, have the same right to education.
At the same time, refugees do not have the right to work until they receive a response to their asylum request. They also are not entitled to various benefits that French citizens receive: for example, refugees cannot receive unemployment benefits or family allowances, are not eligible for social housing, etc. An asylum seeker can gain access to the full “package” of social assistance only if, and only if, they are granted refugee status.
French is too difficult
Finally, another argument for not coming to France that migrants cite is the language barrier. Many of them can somehow communicate in English. And for those who do not speak it, two to three weeks is usually enough to understand and speak simple phrases.
Experts from the French Ofpra (Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons) believe that learning the basics of French takes months. German cannot be called easy either, but first, many Syrian migrants speak Turkish (a language fairly widespread in Germany), and second, many of the newly arriving have relatives already living on German soil.
What conclusion do migrants draw about France
“Just like everyone else, refugees communicate online through social networks. They also have Facebook and WhatsApp,” says Sabren Al-Rasas, an employee of a refugee aid association. “Thus, a general opinion has formed and spread that France is a bad country for migrants.”
As The New York Times wrote, “While the French vote for Marine Le Pen in elections, refugees vote with their feet — they simply do not come to France.”