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| Europe |
| France to bring in immigrant quota system |
| 2005-06-12 |
| France is adopting a tougher immigration policy by introducing a quota system for immigrants with professional skills and accelerating the expulsion of illegal entrants. The move, announced by the government yesterday, is partly in response to the voters' "revolt" in the referendum of May 29 in which they rejected the European Union's constitutional treaty. Illegal immigration and unemployment were two of the main causes of voter discontent, fanned by far-right political parties. Dominique de Villepin, prime minister, said the new policy would be aligned more closely to the demands of the French economy. It would also help relieve some of the pressure on the job market, helping reduce an unemployment rate that stands at 10.2 per cent. "There are no quotas by ethnic origin or nationality. That is not in the spirit of our country. We are faithful to a humanist tradition," he said. "France has the right and the duty to control its immigration policy with criteria adapted to its needs and its principles," a government statement said. One of the points Mr de Villepin - appointed last week with a mission to cut French unemployment and unite a divided nation - said he wanted the plan to achieve was to decide how to adapt "our immigration practice to the needs of the French economy". Nicolas Sarkozy, interior minister, said the government wanted to fix an annual quota for immigrants with different categories of professional qualifications. The categories would be approved by parliament each year. The policy would operate in a similar way to the Canadian system, he said, in which immigrants were assessed according to their education, language skills, age, work experience, and capacity to adapt. This would enable France to move from a policy of "immigration by submission" to one of "immigration by choice", he said. Mr Sarkozy said he also wanted to increase the expulsion rate for clandestine immigrants by 50 per cent from 15,000 a year to 22,500. "France can only remain generous if those who are here in violation of our rights and our laws are returned home," he said. It is estimated that there may be up to 400,000 illegal immigrants in France. The tougher policy has attracted the criticism of human rights organisations, which have contrasted it with the amnesty policy adopted in Spain. Both Mr de Villepin and Mr Sarkozy, who are potential rivals in the presidential elections of 2007, are keen to signal their tough stance on immigration to head off criticisms from the far right. Mr de Villepin, previously interior minister, was appointed prime minister following the referendum defeat. |
| Posted by:too true |
| #3 Yikes! Tom! LOL or Cry. 9.87 |
| Posted by: Shipman 2005-06-12 15:56 |
| #2 Future French history books will read as follows: "...Dominique de Villepin, the infidel prime minister who was a man..." |
| Posted by: Tom 2005-06-12 15:39 |
| #1 This is pure window dressing, Sark and co are trying to "look tough" on that matter. Basing on an article I read, official immigration (that is, not counting the illegals) went from 192.000 in 1999 to 341.000 in 2003, the bulk or it being non-workers brought by "family reunion" (173.000 in 2003), plus asylum seekers (80.000) and students (55 000), most of which stay in France whatever. Economical immigration, ie workers, to which thoses quota would apply concerned only 6500 in 2003. French immigration is not a work immigration like in the USA, but a settlement immigration, period, as acknowledged recently by the gvt (Sarkosy IIRC), only 5% of it can be considered a work immigration, the rest living off social redistribution. There is at the very minimum a 300 000 immigration each year (counting the illegals), the higher end being 400 000+. There are 750 000 birth, an estimated 30-35% of which being from non-european parents. Newly arrived "settlers" tend to have an higher birthrate than in their own native country, having access to parental subsidies and free medecine. In 2003, only 17% of the illegals expulsions were effectively carried out. You do the calculation. For thoses who can read french, an excellent article by Maxime Tandonnet, an immigration specialist : www.autre-europe.org/doc/intervtandonnet09.doc (.doc) or http://66.102.9.104/search? q=cache:o2U8I6EdBP8J:www.autre-europe.org/doc/intervtandonnet09.doc +maxime+tandonnet&hl=fr&start=1&lr=lang_fr(Google html) |
| Posted by: anonymous5089 2005-06-12 14:29 |