François Bayrou maintains his words. The Prime Minister resumed before the deputies, this Tuesday, January 28, the idea of a migration “submersion” in Mayotte and in several other French departments, refuting any “connivance with anyone” in response to the leader of the deputies PS Boris Vallaud who accused him of having “borrowed (this vocabulary) on the far right”.
“Anyone who is confronted with the situation in Mayotte, and it is not the only place in France, a measure that the word of submersion is the one that is most suitable. Because a whole country, a country, […] A whole community of French departments is faced with waves of illegal immigration as they reach 25 % of the population, “said the Prime Minister during the questions to the government.” It is not the words that are Shocking, it’s the realities, “he added.
“Foreign contributions are positive for a people, provided they do not exceed a proportion […] From the moment that you have the feeling of a submersion, to no longer recognize your country, lifestyles or culture, you have rejection, “said on Monday evening on LCI François Bayrou. For the head of government, this threshold is not yet exceeded but “we approach” and “in any case, it is in this area that we are”, knowing that “certain number of cities or regions are (already) in this feeling -there”.
By saying “that everything is a matter of proportion”, the Prime Minister “justified the policy I wish to conduct”, rejoiced on Tuesday Bruno Retailleau (LR). “That a centrist, moderate, balanced man can say, after a month and a half in Matignon, that there is a proportion of foreigners who must not be exceeded on national soil, it is a Advanced, “added his counterpart to justice, Gérald Darmanin (Renaissance).
On the RN side, if the vice-president Sébastien Chenu welcomed having “won the ideological battle”, Marine Le Pen expects François Bayrou “acts that follow the observations”. “The Prime Minister must be aware that he is neither a psychiatrist nor a priest and therefore his word does not heal,” launched the chief of far -right deputies.
Yaël Braun-Pivet would have “never made these words”
But the Prime Minister’s statements shocked the left wing of the presidential camp, first of all the president of the National Assembly Yaël Braun-Pivet. “I would never have made these words and they bother me. We are talking about men and women, our country, France which, by its history, by its geography, by its culture, has always welcomed and has Built with this tradition, “she reacted.
The outcry is general on the left. “It is shameful, it was extremely shocked that a Prime Minister uses the term ‘migration’ submersion and come to accredit this false idea fueled by the extreme right,” reacted the head of the Cyrielle Chatelain environmental deputies. “We borrow neither the words nor the fantasies of the extreme right”, reacted the boss of the socialist deputies Boris Vallaud, judging this “unworthy”.
According to INSEEin 2023, the foreign population living in France amounted to 5.6 million people, or 8.2 % of the total population, against 6.5 % in 1975, an “increase which is low”.