The political controversy sparked in France by the movie “La journée de la jupe,” directed by Jean-Paul Lillianfeld, and starring Isabelle Ajani, had hardly subsided.

Until another heated discussion erupted, following the release of the movie “Welcome” by “Philippe Lloret”.

This time, the matter reached the seats of the French Parliament, where a special screening was organized for this film, which tells a touching human story about the suffering of clandestine immigrants in the city of Calais in northern France.

As a result, 150 parliamentarians submitted a bill to amend Article “L 622” of the Aliens Residence Law, which punishes with 5 years imprisonment and a huge fine of 30,000 euros, anyone who harbors or provides any kind of assistance to an immigrant residing illegally in the country.

And if the new generation of filmmakers of the “post-new wave” (Nouvelle Vague) that confronts the Sarkozy winds that blew the country of “Voltaire”;

It establishes a new artistic direction that began to be referred to as “Cinema of Citizenship”, and it comes as an extension and completion of the “Cinema of Commitment” that was established by “François Truffaut” and his companions in the sixties.

"Sarkozy"... The warrior of secret immigration to the English paradise

Once again, the film “Philippe Lloret”, similar to “Feast of the Tanura” (2008) and “Eden in the West” (2009) directed by Costa-Gavras, contributed to exposing the pitfalls of Sarkozy's policies.

The port of Calais, which is the closest sea crossing to Britain, has for many years attracted large numbers of candidates to emigrate secretly towards the "English Paradise".

And with the tightening of anti-immigration laws during Sarkozy's first term in the Ministry of the Interior (2002-2004), Calais and its environs turned into a focus of a security and humanitarian crisis, after hundreds of candidates for immigration were stuck in it due to the complexity of crossing opportunities to the other bank of the Manche Sea, which prompted the organization The Red Cross to open a special humanitarian shelter to take care of them in the town of Sarlit.

"Sarkozy" returned to the Ministry of the Interior in May 2005, and began early campaigning for the presidential elections. The fight against clandestine immigration was one of its main headlines, which prompted him to move to the spot, take a strict decision to close the Red Cross center in Sarlit, and enact That clause referred to above of the law regulating the residence of foreigners in France.

The law relates to punishing and fining those who harbor or assist illegal immigrants, which made the remnants of the candidates for immigration to Britain hide from view, to escape police pursuits, and thus the electoral propaganda mechanism was able to promote that the super president was able - as usual - to solve this problem like others with a magic effect .

The friendship of the swimmer and the immigrant.. A mutual benefit for crossing the English Channel

Humanitarian associations and organizations did not stop sounding the alarm for months, pointing out that Sarkozy's policies did not address the problem of clandestine immigration in Calais, but contented themselves with hiding it from view, just like the problems of suburban neighborhoods or the problems of unemployment and crime, about which official figures and statistics are manipulated, to diminish the degree of its exacerbation, Or to give the deceptive impression that they are on the decline.

At the invitation of one of those associations, Philippe Lloret visited the Calais region, and was shocked by the inhumane conditions in which candidates for secret immigration to Britain flounder, as they are forced to hide in the forests of the region, to escape security pursuit, to live in miserable conditions similar to primitive life, while suffering Associations that try to take care of their health and humanitarian conditions from constant harassment and judicial threats.

And from his moving journey amidst that mosaic of “powdered globalists” of different nationalities stuck in Calais, “Philippe Lloret” inspired his movie “Welcome”, as he tells the touching human story of a swimming coach from the area called “Simon” (actor Vincent Linden). It is related to the Kurdish immigrant Bilal (actor Furat Ivery) coming from Iraq, as he begs him to teach him the art of floating, so that he can swim across the English Channel, hoping to join the one he loves on the other side.

Firat Avery (Bilal) with swimming coach Vincent Linden

“Philippe Lloret” made public concern intertwine with personal suffering in this story. “Simon” also seeks to recover his wife who abandoned him, and finds in Bilal’s insistence on crossing the English Channel to swim to join his beloved, a symbolic equivalent to the personal challenge he is also facing in order to regain love His wife, which gave the film more credibility and human depth.

Unerasable ink.. Methods from the era of the Nazi police

Far from any rhetorical tone, “Philippe Lloret” was able to shed light on the excessive security harassment that pursues the swimming coach “Simon”, just because he transports this Kurdish refugee in his car or shelters him in his home, and this explains the screening of the film in the French Parliament, at the initiative of Opposition deputies expressed their shock because this punishment imposed on those who harbor clandestine immigrants recalls the laws of the “Vichy” government loyal to the Nazi occupation during World War II, as it punished anyone who harbored or helped Jews fleeing from persecution.

Sarkozy's police pursue clandestine immigrants and put numbers on their forearms written in indelible ink

What added to the comparisons between the two cases is that the film shows that the Sarkozy police - as they pursue secret immigrants who do not have identity papers - count them by placing numbers on their forearms, which are written in indelible ink, just as the Gestapo (the German secret police) was. The Jewish candidates for the Holocaust were counted by tattooing special numbers on their forearms.

After the film was shown, Sarkozy loyalists in the media and in the French political class launched a massive campaign against the film, led by the Minister of Immigration and National Identity at the time, Eric Besson, who is one of the leftist ministers of openness in Sarkozy's government. Despite the campaign, more than a million French people accepted. Watch it less than a month after it was released in theaters.

“Cinema of Citizenship” .. Transitions in the worlds of French cinema

French cinema has witnessed major transitions in the past period, starting with “Laurent Cantet”, whose film “Between the Walls” (Entre les Murs) won the Palme d’Or at the “Cannes” festival (2008), to “Jean-Paul Lillianfield”, who recorded “Isabelle Adjani”. Through his movie “Feast of the Tanura”, a resounding return to the forefront of French cinematic life.

Then, passing by “Matthew Kasovich” in the movie “Hate”, “Gaspard Noy” in the movie “Irreversible” in 2002, Abdel Latif Kashish in the movie “The Elusive” (l’esquive) in 2003, and the movie “Couscous in Bury”. (La Graine et le Mulet) in 2007, and “Jacques Audiard” in the movie “Look at the men as they fall” (Regarde les Hommes Tomber) in 1994, and the movie “De Battre mon Cœur s'est Arrêté” ) in 2005.

Then we reach “Philippe Lloret”, whose movie “Welcome” in 2009 is an extension of his previous experiences, which were all focused on portraying the worlds of the marginalized and the downtrodden in the movie “Tombés du Ciel” in 1993, and the movie “Compulsory respectable costume.” (Tenue correct exigée) in 1997.

Tanoura clubs.. the post-new wave generation

Since the mid-1990s, French cinema has witnessed the emergence of a new generation of filmmakers, who have come to be called the “post-new wave”, in appreciation of the qualitative shift and the revolutionary tone they carry, as it recalls the articulated shift shaped by the emergence of the “new wave” in the sixties.

However, “commitment” in its traditional sense of the sixties has declined here, to be replaced by a new tone that seeks to establish a “cinema of citizenship.”

Director “Philippe Lloret” comes his movie “Welcome” as an extension of his experiences that focused on the worlds of the marginalized and the downtrodden.

Through the movie “Communists”, Rachid Bouchareb and his five film stars, who all belong to the second generation of immigrants’ children, were able to convince President “Chirac” to issue a law, delayed for more than half a century, to equalize the rights of retirees from the French army of Maghreb origin, and between Other veterans of purely French descent.

In the aftermath of the controversy aroused by the movie “Tanura Festival”, “Tanura Clubs” were established in 26 French provinces, in order to combat discrimination and harassment of women and girls in popular French neighborhoods.

As for the film “Philippe Lloret”, it was watched by one million French people, and also resulted in a petition signed by two million people to demand the abolition of penalties that threaten those who help illegal immigrants.

Because of the movie “Feast of the Tanura” (2008), “Tanourah Clubs” were established in 26 French provinces.

Opinion polls showed at the time that 77% of the French demanded the abolition of those Sarkozy sanctions, which they consider contrary to the values ​​and principles of the French Republic.