Is France particularly “attractive” for migrants, as Bruno Retailleau says?

Is France attracting more migrants?

“Enough is enough”, “my wish is that France is not more attractive in terms of immigration than the rest of the countries of Europe”, emphasized Bruno Retailleau this week. In 2022, 5.1 million migrants from a non-EU country entered Europe, according to Eurostat data in March 2024. The country which welcomed the most is Germany (1.6 million). Spain welcomed 925,000, Italy 287,000, France 238,000. Together they represent 60% of migrant arrivals from a non-EU country.

Compared to the size of the country, non-Europeans represent 5.6% of the French population in 2022, according to Eurostat. In other countries, it represents 8.1% of the Spanish population, 7.6% of that of Germany and 6.2% of that of Italy. Concerning asylum requests, the highest number of protection requests was recorded in Germany (334,000, + 45% over one year) in 2023.

The country represents 30% of requests, far ahead of France (167,000, + 7%), Spain (162,000, + 38%) and Italy (136,000, + 63%), according to a report from the European Union. “France has never had so many immigrants in absolute and relative terms (7.3 million people were born foreigners and live in France in 2023, according to INSEE), but it remains behind the European average. It is far from being the most attractive country in Europe,” according to Anthony Edo, economist at the Center for Prospective Studies and International Information (Cepii).

Are foreigners burdening the state budget?

In a 2021 report, the OECD noted that “despite the changes experienced by the immigrant population and public finances, marked by the global financial crisis, the budgetary impact of immigration remains low, and is between – 1% and +1% of GDP in most countries.”

In France, the net budgetary contribution of people born abroad is 1.02% of GDP, therefore slightly in surplus, but lower than the average for OECD countries (1.56%). “Immigrants are concentrated in working life ages between 25 and 55 where we contribute the most to public finances and generate less public spending (retirement, education, etc.),” explains Anthony Edo.

State medical aid, a magnet?

The AME, which allows people in irregular situations to benefit from certain care free of charge, encourages “clandestineness”, repeats Bruno Retailleau. According to a 2019 study by the Institute for Research and Documentation in Health Economics (Irdes), only 51% of eligible people benefit from this system. The use of AME increases with the time spent in the territory, which “suggests that most migrants have little knowledge” of the system. Even after five years or more of residence in France, “35% of people without a residence permit have not used the AME,” notes Irdes.

Furthermore, migration for health reasons is only mentioned by 9.5% of people eligible for AME, far behind economic (49%) and political (23%) reasons. In Germany, asylum seekers benefit from common law social assistance after three years in the country. Previously they only had access to emergency care including “treatment of acute illnesses and pain”. Pregnancy and post-pregnancy support is also part of the covered care.