Alexandre Chauveau / Photo credit: Thomas COEX / AFP 12:35 pm, May 25, 2023
Take inspiration from our neighbours. This is what Eric Ciotti wants when it comes to the subject of migration. The president of the Republicans is currently on a trip to Denmark. This small country of six million people has one of the strictest policies in place on the subject. What to give ideas to Eric Ciotti?Denmark makes Eric Ciotti dream. The Scandinavian country has implemented a restrictive migration policy. As a result, the number of asylum seekers has fallen by 80% in five years in the country. In a brick building on the outskirts of Copenhagen, the Danish Return Agency is an example of this policy. Created in 2020, it works to return rejected asylum seekers to their country of origin.
"They are only entitled to one possible return and we strongly encourage voluntary departures to the countries of origin with aid of 5,000 euros," Claes Nilas, the director of the agency, told Europe 1. Republican leader Eric Ciotti is taking notes because in Denmark, it is the left that has cut social benefits for newcomers.
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"A pragmatic analysis, not an ideological one"
"The left has always been concerned about the poorest. You know, those who pay the price of immigration. They are never the wealthiest classes," sums up the Danish Social Democrat Minister for Immigration. A policy that Eric Ciotti wants to draw inspiration from, anxious not to make immigration a taboo subject.
"Denmark has become less attractive, which has significantly reduced flows. There is a political analysis that is pragmatic and not ideological," he said. And the president of the Republicans will table his two bills tomorrow night at the latest. A way to make a week last a little longer that will have seen the right regain control.