“Control policy”
The Prime Minister announced this Tuesday, October 1, that he wanted an exceptional extension of the detention of foreigners in an irregular situation, and did not refrain from opening a “discussion” on the 1968 migration agreement between France and Algeria.
Drama sometimes mixes with politics. Philippine’s cruel death has relaunched the debate on immigration and obligations to leave the territory (OQTF). The new Minister of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau, has occupied the media space in recent days to say that “immigration is not an opportunity for France”. Left-wing associations and politicians have expressed their disagreement. They also asked the Prime Minister to react to refocus his minister, applauded by the National Rally. SO ? Michel Barnier remained between the lines; no big announcement behind his desk in the National Assembly, but a direction. “We also need a policy to control immigration, he declared during his general policy declaration this Tuesday, October 1. It is urgent to get out of the ideological impasse that everyone has put it in. This subject, which leaves no one indifferent, must be treated with the seriousness and humanity that it deserves rather than being used in controversies. Immigration is an issue that we must look at with lucidity and confront with pragmatism.”
The Prime Minister promises – like his predecessors – to work to “more efficient and local processing of asylum applications so that applicants obtain a decision quickly”. It also intends to propose the exceptional extension of the detention of foreigners in an irregular situation, to better execute the OQTFs – 10% are executed on average. A way of responding to the controversy after the death of Philippine. The suspect, who had just left an administrative detention center, was subject to an OQTF. A meeting is scheduled with the prefects next week to discuss the subject.
Long-standing “bilateral agreements”
Michel Barnier, who repeats that France will continue, “as long as necessary”, to reestablish controls on its “own borders”, as Germany has just done, also look at the level of Europe. This gives: “The recent European Pact on Migration and Asylum plans to control flows by operating controls at the EU’s external borders. It is at these borders that we will decide who is entitled to enter EU territory in the name of the right to asylum, and who is not.”
Finally, like Bruno Retailleau, the Prime Minister does not refrain from opening a “discussion with the countries concerned by bilateral agreements concluded long ago when they no longer correspond to today’s realities”. What is he talking about? The agreement between France and Algeria, signed in 1968, which regulates the movement, employment and stay of Algerian nationals in France. An agreement denounced for years by part of the right and the extreme right.
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