Jacques Serais
2022 is the year when there were the most asylum applications on French territory: 156,103 precisely, an increase of 28% compared to 2021. This is indicated by the Directorate General for Foreigners in France , which adds that 60% of them were refused by the State.
Immigration comes up regularly in the debates. The different political camps regularly tear each other apart on this subject. A few days before the presentation in the Council of Ministers of the next bill on immigration, the Directorate General for Foreigners in France has just published its 2022 report. We learn first of all that there have never been so many asylum applications on our territory.
One million asylum applications across Europe
For the year 2022, there were precisely 156,103. It’s a record. This is 28% more than in 2021. Compared to 2019, which serves as the reference year before Covid, the increase is 3%. On a European scale, nearly a million asylum applications were made in 2022. The migratory pressure is not abating. In France, the first country of origin of asylum seekers remains Afghanistan for the fifth consecutive year, followed by Bangladesh, Turkey, Georgia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The vast majority, approximately 60% of these asylum applications, were refused by the French State, which does not prevent them, with French law which is little applied, from remaining with an OQTF without being particularly worried about the National territory. Emmanuel Macron was however committed to solving this problem. It is clear that it is worsening with a still significant difficulty in the management of these flows.
Many of these foreigners who apply for their permits in France passed through another European country during their journey and should have had their files processed beforehand. It should be noted that removal procedures have increased, more than 15% compared to 2021, but they remain below the pre-crisis level.