In recent years, the number of people seeking political asylum in France has been increasing
France has always been a "land for immigrants," the president said before warning: today the country is practically divided into two camps. Those who do not welcome immigration vote for the far-right "National Rally" (formerly the "National Front"). The rest prefer to see their country as "open but not naive." This is how Le Figaro newspaper conveys Macron's words.
As RFI notes, the migration issue in France is becoming an urgent problem, writes Le Monde newspaper. Back in August, speaking at a meeting with French ambassadors, Emmanuel Macron presented figures. While in recent years the number of people seeking political asylum in neighboring European countries has been gradually falling, in France it is increasing. In 2017, the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (Ofpra) received about 100,000 requests for asylum, in 2018 more than 120,000, and in the current year 2019 the number could reach 130,000. The president explained this increase in the number of refugees in the country by saying that "we are a poorly organized country."
How does the government plan to reduce the number of refugees wishing to come to France? Le Monde newspaper outlines the main measures proposed in the bill. First, it is necessary to combat the "attractiveness" of France. This means that the state intends to significantly reduce the budget expenditures allocated for assistance to asylum seekers. Currently, it allocates half a billion euros per year for benefits to refugees who are not allowed to work, and about a billion for providing them with medical care.
In addition, the government wants to strengthen control over refugees from so-called "safe" countries. These are primarily Georgians and Albanians. This year, people from Georgia and Albania ranked second and third respectively in the number of requests for political asylum. In first place are people from Afghanistan.
The Ministry of the Interior assumes that people from safe countries come to France to take advantage of free medical care. Moreover, even if political asylum is refused (in the case of people from Georgia this is 95%, Albania 91%), applicants retain the right to free medical care for one year. Therefore, the government intends to reform the system of providing assistance to refugees. The issue of reducing the allowance, which currently stands at 6.80 euros per day per person, is also being considered.