William Molinie
The National Court for the Right to Asylum is the French court that handles the most cases in France. In 2021 alone, magistrates considered 70,000 asylum seeker files, or 48% more than in 2020. Europe 1 was able to attend a day of hearings and strikingly, most applicants do not do not fall under the right of asylum.
From the 234 passengers on the Ocean Viking in Toulon to the 956 migrants evacuated Thursday at Porte de la Chapelle in Paris… Is France managing to meet the migration challenge? Each year, more than 200,000 foreigners who have fled their country arrive on French territory. Last year, 70,000 asylum applications were processed by the National Court for the Right of Asylum in Montreuil, in the Paris region. Those who present themselves have been dismissed at first instance and are therefore trying their luck on appeal. Europe 1 attended a day of hearings and strikingly, most of the speeches of the candidates do not fall under the right of asylum.
15,000 asylum applications granted in 2021
This is the case, for example, of Katerina, 61, from Ingushetia, one of the republics of the Russian Federation. In front of the court, she swears to be threatened with persecutions if she were expelled. “What exactly are you afraid of?” Asks the magistrate. The interpreter translates: “I was robbed and my phone was stolen.” Out of court his lawyer recognizes that his desperately empty file, not enough in any case to obtain asylum.
Cases follow one another, often with the same stories, sometimes the same details. An Azeri in his forties recounts having converted to Jehovah’s Witnesses but in the face of the magistrates, he is unable to give the names of the various deities. His lawyer insists, “I think we should reach out to him, he has made two suicide attempts,” he argues. An assessor, who prefers to remain anonymous, confides that in two years, he has not seen a single political refugee at the helm.
Last year, the National Asylum Court granted protection to just over 15,000 people, an average rate of 22% which varies from one nationality to another. The most protected are from countries at war, such as Syrians or Afghans.