On immigration, one of the central themes of the campaign of the Republican Congress, each candidate has his formula. During the third debate for the nomination for the next presidential election, broadcast on Europe 1 and CNews, the five candidates – Michel Barnier, Xavier Bertrand, Éric Ciotti, Philippe Juvin and Valérie Pécresse – discussed their solutions for regulating, in a more or less strong, recourse to immigration to France. In a poll for Europe 1 and CNews, nearly 60% of French people say they are against the idea of zero immigration in France.
Quotas, blood rights, republican passport…
On this subject, Xavier Bertrand recalls that he wants to set up a referendum in the fall of 2022 on a “migration quota” to combat illegal immigration. The president of the Hauts-de-France region also advocates a “republican passport”, where people who want to come to France must adhere “to republican principles: no religious law is equal to or superior to the laws of the Republic, and the woman is the equal of man”, he specifies, “otherwise, there is no possible integration. It is assimilation”, adds Xavier Bertrand.
The deputy of the Alpes-Maritimes Éric Ciotti defends him “the right of blood”, affirming that the situation in Mayotte can generalize in France. “It’s only a matter of time if we don’t do anything,” he warns. For the deputy, “we cannot become French by chance of birth. We must become French by descent. We must above all become French by naturalization, with much stronger requirements”, continues Éric Ciotti, who wants to extend the time limit for taking nationality is ten years.
“A challenge of civilization”
Valérie Pécresse is also firm on immigration. The president of the Ile-de-France region proposes a system of “quotas” in which “we select those we want to let in” on French territory. For her, it is also necessary to review development aid in certain “problem” countries. “If countries do not take back their illegal immigrants, it’s zero immigration for them. Zero student, zero work, family reunification”, supports Valérie Pécresse, underlining the bad behavior of Mali or Algeria in the visa affair.
For his part, Michel Barnier believes that there is “a civilization issue” and puts forward a “constitutional moratorium”, put in place next September, which would “immediately stop the regularization of undocumented migrants , to stop family reunifications, to start the fight against social fraud”. The former Brexit negotiator for the EU also opts for “biometric verification of all those who benefit from health insurance rights”, instead of the vital card. Michel Barnier also wants to modify the right of asylum “to avoid abuse”.
For his part, Philippe Juvin is positioning himself for a suspension of the Schengen agreements, seeing the European question as a “key” question in immigration. “We are renegotiating with the countries that are part of this agreement, and we will have a Schengen 2 in which there will be countries that have the same migration policy”, assures the mayor of La Garenne-Colombes, in Hauts-de-Seine. . “We must include Mayotte and the overseas territories in the Schengen area so that we can benefit from the advantages of Frontex”, adds Philippe Juvin.