Arrived from Tirana (Albania) at Beauvais airport, travelers face no less than five agents behind the windows of the last checkpoint before being able to set foot on French soil. On this day, the officials of the Border Police (PAF) are accompanied by counterparts from Greece, Romania and Moldova. A presence far from fortuitous since it aims - at the request of the authorities - to strengthen the fight against illegal immigration within the framework of an original cooperation between the border police and the European border guard and border agency. Frontex Coast Guard.
"With the economic recovery, there are many travelers who arrive here, but who should not be because they are in an irregular situation", summarizes the prefect Corinne Orzechowski.
Since the start of 2021, 285 passengers have been refused access to French territory.
In 2020, this figure rose to 783. For the most part these travelers who are not in good standing arrive from Eastern European countries - mostly from Romania - which represent almost half of the destinations offered by the airport.
A similar situation in 2019 with the Georgians
In 2019, the PAF experienced a similar phenomenon of illegal immigration with Georgians in an irregular situation passing through the Kutaisi-Beauvais link. Of the 634 non-admissions recorded that year, 291 concerned nationals of this country, or nearly a third of the decisions. "Many came to try to be treated", indicates the boss of the PAF, Dominique Enjolras. But some fell into the hands of criminal organizations already established in France, forcing them to work for them in exchange for their help.
At the time already, the Beauvaisian police at the airport had already welcomed into their ranks a Georgian colleague to try to stem the phenomenon, like what was repeated with the 3 current agents. Two of them will remain until January 2022 and will perform "the same missions as their French counterparts for extra Schengen flights and are positioned in the second line for internal flights to the Schengen area" and will participate "in the control mission. cross-border by verifying the veracity of the passenger's identity document, his identity and his status before allowing him to enter French soil ”, according to the prefecture.
"This makes it possible to facilitate dialogue with arriving travelers, but it is also an opportunity for agents to exchange knowledge, particularly in terms of document fraud," says Corinne Orzechowski. According to her, it is about sending "a strong signal". “You might as well turn away from the border point rather than then manage networks, illegal installations, hidden work or even people who will try to board boats in Calais. This is the meaning of the law, ”said the representative of the State.
In the event of refusal of access to the territory, the person is either returned immediately to their country or placed in a waiting zone. According to the National Association of Border Assistance for Foreigners (Anafé), the first option is generally favored by the authorities. "This practice of rapid return is facilitated by the operation of Beauvais airport, since aircraft landing times are low there," said the association in a report published in September 2020.
In the associative world, there is a problem of discrimination regarding access to borders for people from Eastern Europe. “There are unfortunately a lot of common stereotypes. In the collective imagination, we think of mafia networks when the reality is quite different, blows a volunteer in an association helping undocumented migrants. These are migratory routes as we know across Europe and above all people who try to come and seek a better future for themselves and their children. "