Immigration: “What matters now are the acts committed in our country,” declares Aurore Bergé

The news surrounding the death of police officer Eric Comyn and the critical situation of a little girl mown down during an urban rodeo raises the sensitive question of the laxity of the French justice system in the face of delinquency and insecurity. According to Aurore Bergé, Minister for Equality between Women and Men, Emmanuel Macron’s presidency has not contributed to more laxity, particularly on the issue of foreigners committing crimes on French soil: “The man indicted after the death of Eric Comyn had entered France legally at the age of seven. Today, with this famous immigration law, this person could be deportable.”

“A message of clarity and firmness”

“Before, the law did not allow him to be expelled despite all the crimes he committed because he entered France before he was 13. After the immigration law, the fact that he committed these crimes and was convicted allows his expulsion. What counts now are the acts committed in our country,” she explains.

She believes that the position taken by the government is a “message of clarity and firmness”. The minister also returned to the refusals to comply with the police, which amount to 25,000 per year.

“These are social facts. There is a need to understand them as such. We see the challenge that some people take on social networks to provoke the police, put them in danger and sometimes other lives. Because when the police intervene, it is first and foremost to protect, so it is zero tolerance.”

“The legislator has acted. The rules are clear, the law has been changed, the penalties incurred are extremely clear. Now, these penalties must be applied,” she concludes.