The rules for regularizing undocumented people in France could be quickly tightened. The Minister of the Interior Bruno Retailleau announced Wednesday October 9 in an interview with Parisian want to return to the circular in force since 2012 by Manuel Valls. He is now proposing regularization “in small amounts, based on the reality of work and real integration criteria”, in a context where many European countries are moving towards much stronger control of their borders.
“I will send two circulars to the prefects in the coming weeks,” promised the minister who received them on Tuesday, around a meeting which focused on immigration. “A first which will clarify their steering role and the second which will replace the Valls circular”, he detailed. In force since 2012, this Valls circular allows prefects to exceptionally regularize people for reasons of “private and family life”, according to several criteria: children in school and presence in France for several years. Or for work, in particular by justifying a presence in the territory for several years and a certain number of salary slips.
Towards resorting to transit countries?
In reality, this law is intended to expand on the very poorly received immigration law of January 2024. “A law will be needed to supplement the Immigration law of January, largely censored by the Constitutional Council, for formal reasons,” said assumed Bruno Retailleau. The Minister of the Interior, however, denies wanting to bypass Parliament on migration policy: “Regulatory life and the legislative path are perfectly complementary.”
Last week, Prime Minister Michel Barnier seemed to rule out the idea of a new immigration law. “It’s me who sets the line” on immigration, and “there will be rigorous measures to control it,” he assured after controversial remarks from Bruno Retailleau, particularly on the rule of law.
In his interview with ParisianBruno Retailleau also says he would like to “use transit countries to send back people who are impossible to remove to their countries of origin”, for political reasons, citing the example of Afghanistan. Bruno Retailleau is not the only one to plead for this solution, which he has made his hobby horse: the question will be debated today in Luxembourg, where EU interior ministers are meeting to explore a proposal flammable transfer of migrants to reception centers in third countries.