French immigration policy is on the menu of the National Assembly. French MEPs are expected to vote on Wednesday 18 September on the ratification by France of an agreement between the European Union and Afghanistan including a very specific component on "irregular migration flows".
This text paves the way for readmission agreements that will facilitate deportations of rejected migrants from the right of asylum, from Paris to Kabul.
So far, the French State has been expelling little. The Ministry of the Interior, contacted by InfoMigrants, and Amnesty International give the figures of 11 forced returns to Afghanistan in 2017, 11 in 2018 and 11 in 2019.
Chanard of the calendar, even as the deputies study the agreement to the Assembly, an expulsion takes place this Wednesday from the Rennes administrative detention center.
Degraded security situation in Afghanistan
The text of the agreement is being studied by the MPs as the Taliban multiply offensives in Afghanistan. In this context, NGOs are sounding the alarm. Cimade, an aid association for migrants, and Amnesty International deem these evictions "inadmissible in view of the serious risks faced by the people concerned". Both organizations speak of violation of international law and call for a moratorium from France on the removal of Afghans.
At the same time, Paris intends to increase "voluntary returns" by distributing financial aid to encourage Afghan migrants to return home. On 12 September, the French State raised this aid by 2,500 euros. A measure that specifically addresses Afghans, Iranians and undocumented Iraqis in several regions of France.