The French government has said that the deportations of irregular migrants in France increased by almost 27 percent in 2024. The French government is turning to tougher migration controls in the hopes of regaining voters from Marine Le Pen's far-right party.
France's Interior Ministry announced that deportations of migrants living irregularly in the country increased by nearly 27 percent in 2024, with approximately 22,000 individuals deported. The data comes as the government seeks to tighten immigration policies amid rising support for the far-right.
According to the ministry's preliminary figures, nearly 13,000 people were forcibly deported, around 5,000 received assistance to leave, and approximately 4,000 left voluntarily.
Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau has prioritized stricter migration controls and efforts to combat drug-related crime, aiming to regain voters from Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN).
Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin, who previously held the interior ministry position, welcomed the figures, stating on social media platform X that he was "delighted with these results obtained thanks to the firm policy we pursued during the first nine months of last year, continued by Bruno Retailleau."
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French far-right slams rise in residency permits
Le Pen, however, highlighted an increase in the number of residency permits issued, which rose by 1.8 percent in 2024 to 336,710. She described the figure as "a new record."
"We must now take action and put in place the necessary measures to retake control of our migration policy," Le Pen said in a post on X.
The ministry reported that three-quarters of the permits were granted to students or individuals moving to France for family or humanitarian reasons.
Last week, Prime Minister François Bayrou said many in France felt "submerged" by immigration, remarks that were praised by the far right but criticized by left-wing opponents, nearly disrupting budget negotiations.
In October last year, France, along with 13 other European countries, called on the European Commission to sharpen the bloc's return of irregular migrants to their home countries.
France, along with other EU countries such as Denmark, Germany, Italy, and Sweden, has also extended temporary border checks within the bloc's free-movement Schengen zone into 2025 as part of efforts to curb irregular migration.
With Reuters
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