Number of refugees increases in France

Those from Mali, Senegal, and China have the least chance of obtaining asylum in France (less than 1%). At the same time, 81% of applicants from Rwanda receive a positive response. The statistics of the Office for the Protection of Refugees do not include children arriving with their parents. Their number last year was about 8,000 people. Thus, France was among the European countries receiving the largest number of applications from those seeking political refuge, following Great Britain (100,700 people) and Germany (71,127 people). The largest number of applications comes from Eastern European countries and the Mediterranean basin, and the main flow of refugees still consists of residents of the former USSR, primarily Chechnya and Georgia. In 2002, about 17% of all applicants received residence permits.