Paris (AFP)

"By its passivity, its complacency, the government becomes an accomplice (of a real migratory submersion", denounced Wednesday the MEP Nicolas Bay National Rally, the day after the publication of official figures on immigration showing an increase in asylum applications.

"The submersion continues ...", had briefly tweeted the president of RN Marine Le Pen on Tuesday.

"Asylum has become a new immigration route for people exclusively attracted by economic and social benefits," said Nicolas Bay, also a member of the RN executive office (management), in a press release.

It notes that the applicants' countries of origin such as Guinea (second after Afghanistan), Georgia and Albania (in 3rd and 4th position) are "fairly stable politically".

He reiterates his opposition to a possible accession of Albania to the European Union, "a country with a Muslim majority of 3 million inhabitants, worked by Turkish and Saudi Islamisms", and demands "a real policy of deterrence, with drastic reinforcement of evictions. "

Hautes-Alpes deputy Eric Ciotti (LR), for his part, lamented on LCI that "immigration has never been so high in France".

"In Germany we execute a decision (of expulsion) on two, in France 20%", he noted, judging that despite the "firm speech" the borders "are wide open".

The deputy LR Guillaume Larrivé assured him that the asylum "remains, more than ever, a machine to make illegal immigrants".

"France continues to sink into migratory chaos" and "we cannot break away from immigrationism without a real political will and without a deep legal break," he added.

France registered 132,614 asylum requests last year (+ 7.3%) and issued 276,576 first residence permits (+ 6.8%), including more than 90,000 for students. Evictions increased by 19% with 23,746 renewals.

© 2020 AFP