Asylum in France
[3] On 2 July 2020, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) condemned France for the “inhuman and degrading living conditions” of three asylum seekers.
Currently, the OFPRA (French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons) takes charge of all asylum affairs and application proceedings for France.
Usually a five-year of dwelling in France territory would be required before the application, for asylum seekers who get a refugee status, that period could be exempted and they could apply for the naturalization at once if they wish.
In 2018, top five origin countries where asylum seekers in France came from are Afghanistan (10,270), Albania (9,690), Georgia (6,960), Guinea (6,880) and Côte d'Ivoire (5,375)[9] Before the 1930s, French presented a relatively open attitude to refugees for its need of labour and the recovery caused by World War I.
[13] The trend shortly changed after Daladier left the government in late 1933, and some of the measures were relaxed by the new Prime minister Léon Blum.
An examples for the new trend was the interministerial commission's new review of the policy in the same year, which confirmed "no restrictions needed" for refugees coming to France.
An examples for the new trend in 1939 was the lukewarm reception to refugees in France during La Retirada, the flight of nearly 500,000 Spaniards due to the defeat of the Republicans in the Spanish Civil War.
Many refugees, especially for political asylum purposes, lost their special right to continue residing in France, and some of them were sent back to their origin countries,[12] mostly Germany and Italy.
In November 1945, Charles de Gaulle was elected President of France, and a more consistent policy on immigration and asylum became a goal by the new government.
Intercultural policies on asylum- seeking were first put in place in the 1980s after being agreed upon by republicans, left and right wing parties as well as anti-immigration and white supremacist groups.
The new amendments mainly focused on controlling the number of immigrants and asylum seekers moving into France, regulating marriages and identity documents.
After 2015 the Europe refugee crisis, incidents like terrorist attacks that break national security, are partially connected with the asylum policy.
Concerns on domestic security was also presumed to be a reason that pulled up the support rate of right-wing parties since 2015, which advocates stricter policies on managing asylum seekers.
[26] Some voices also claimed that the influx of Islamist radicals and the failure of integration policy had contributed to the deteriorating safety environment of France.
A frequently mentioned case relates to Migrants near Calais and Dunkirk, where refugees built shelters and formed even communities themselves for decades.
[28] However, President Macron also stressed the "illegal actions" that happened by asylum seekers near Calais as they hope to reach the UK and some of the residents had been legally transported to reception centres.
Individuals who fail to assimilate are outcast, leading to difficulties obtaining a job, hardships in education, and obstacles in applying for citizenship.
Such social ostracization feeds civil disobedience as seen recently amongst Muslim migrant youth, young adults and hijabis in France.
