Bruno Retailleau announces two circulars to reduce immigration

Despite the rumors which preceded its formation, the government of Michel Barnier did not resurrect a ministry of immigration as it had been created under Nicolas Sarkozy between 2007 and 2010. But at Place Beauvau, Tuesday October 8, Bruno Retailleau spoke about immigration, immigration and immigration to the twenty-one prefects he had invited – those from the departments which concentrate 80% of removal measures. A “work meeting” which preceded another, where all the prefects were able to listen to the Minister of the Interior develop his five priorities, the first and most detailed being immigration, followed by security, political Islam, Territorial state and civil security.

“He said that he wanted to respond to the will of the people and that what matters is the result of the first round of the legislative elections”reports one of the participants, under cover of anonymity, like all those who were kind enough to confide to the Monde the content of these exchanges. On June 30, it was the National Rally which came first in the votes, before the Republican front relegated it to third position during the second round, on July 7.

While his predecessor Place Beauvau, Gérald Darmanin, although coming from the ranks of the Republicans like him, proposed to be “mean to the bad, kind to the good”Mr. Retailleau hammered home to the prefects his wish to reduce immigration, including legal immigration, in a context where the issuance of residence permits in France is following a lasting upward trend, under the effect of student immigration, but also professional and humanitarian.

Be accountable

Aware that in the absence of a parliamentary majority, his room for maneuver lies more on the regulatory side than on the legislative side, the minister announced two future circulars. The first is similar to a steering directive for prefectures, through the assignment of objectives. “He asks the prefects to report to him and provide him with dashboards on the increase in expulsions and the drop in regularizations”explains a prefect.

On expulsions, the minister asked them to use the provisions introduced by the immigration law of January 2024, which lift a certain number of protections limiting the possibilities of removal for several categories of foreigners (such as those who arrived in France before the age of 13).

As for regularizations, they will be the subject of the second circular announced by the minister, to replace the one currently in force. Known as the “Valls circular”, this 2012 text, unevenly applied across the territory, determines the criteria for regularizing undocumented foreigners and allows roughly 30,000 people to obtain a residence permit each year, in because of their private and family life in France – this is particularly the case for parents of children who have been in school for three years – or the paid work they do.

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