France’s new interior minister, Bruno Letailraud, has ignored the angry cries of leftists who have criticized his ideological closeness to the People’s Party since appearing on TV on Sunday, and the need to control illegal immigration and reduce legal immigration. continues to insist on his statement. . In an interview with Figaro magazine, he outlined a plan to combat immigration, crime and political Islam.
In the interview, the minister revisited the numerous “malfunctions” that led to the murder of a 19-year-old Filipino on Friday, September 20th. To avoid a repeat of the same scenario in the future, Letailot advocates for stricter detention rules for undocumented immigrants facing deportation.
For the first time at such a high level of government, he denounced the harmful role played by organizations that intervene in detention centers to provide legal and social advice to migrants sent there. According to the minister, they are both “judges and parties” and they have decided to hand over their work to a government agency, the Office français de l’immigration et de l’intégration (French Immigration and Integration Agency). He says he wants it. ). He also revealed the exorbitant amount of subsidies allocated to these associations. “1 billion euros for all associations responsible for the reception and support of migrants.”
The tragedy of the Filipino death also calls for a reassessment of the management of illegal minors. The suspect was 17 years old when he arrived on French soil and was first convicted of rape. “Her alleged killer was sentenced to just seven years in prison for rape because he was a minority. An adult would have been sentenced to twice as much. We are definitely reversing the logic. , it is necessary to make the minority excuse an exception to be justified by judges rather than the rule,” the minister pointed out, hoping that legislation would make it possible to change the situation.
Mr. Retailleau details a little-known area of immigration policy where major changes are planned: the issuance of visas and consular permits. The minister points out that France has considerable influence in gaining the respect of migrants’ countries of origin, but has little use of it, namely by issuing visas. Here again, he gives numbers that are not widely known. In the case of Morocco, 238,750 visas were issued to Moroccan nationals in 2023. In return, the French government received only 725 people who were released and only 865 people who were deported. In the same year, Algeria obtained 205,853 visas but only took back 2,191 of its citizens, of whom 1,680 were deported. This imbalance is flagrant and demands a response.
Journalists interviewed pointed out that former minister Gerard Darmanin had already tried to reverse this trend, but without success. Bruno Lutailot suggests that the political will is not really there and that it is important now for the French government to raise the tone by using another pressure tool: cooperation and development aid.
He added that no serious policy can be pursued without a European perspective. On economic issues, Letailot points to the ongoing negotiations in Brussels on trade preferences, or tariffs, explaining that “this is a historic opportunity for Europeans to demand reciprocity in areas that are important to them.” He also plans to call again at European level for reform of the Return Directive, which he accuses of making it virtually impossible for illegal migrants to return home.
The question that arises regarding the means of these tasks is, of course, their political implementation, which in the current fragile political balance of France makes them rather uncertain. First of all, Lutailot points out that there is considerable room for maneuver when it comes to effectively applying existing laws. “Too often, the administration fails to go as far as the law allows,” he notes.
In that case, of course, a new law would have to be enacted. LeTaillou interprets the results of the July 2024 elections as a mandate for increased security and tighter immigration controls. This is evidence that he has implicitly incorporated into his thinking the importance of voting for the Rassemblement National Party, which has 11 million voters. “He was appointed to respond to the desire of the majority of the French people to restore order not only in terms of immigration but also in terms of security,” he claims. He says he’s confident in his ability to find agreement among lawmakers who support a tougher stance, even if it remains vague.
Unfortunately, the situation is likely to become even more complicated once the debate begins in parliament. Moreover, as RN Congresswoman Laure Lavalette passionately denounced, why did a Republican lawmaker then take such an obvious hardline stance without bothering to reconcile his vote with what he said? Unfortunately, this is not the first time. “The LR often speaks like us during election campaigns and then governs like Macronists,” she recalled in an interview with Frontières.
