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"Impose by referendum a moratorium on immigration?"

2021-08-02T11:32:49.135Z


FIGAROVOX / TRIBUNE - Michel Barnier, potential presidential candidate, called for a moratorium on immigration in the columns of Figaro. Maxime Tandonnet also notes the need to "regain control of immigration" but wonders about the choice of means and ...


A keen observer of French political life and regular contributor to the FigaroVox, former adviser to Nicolas Sarkozy at the Elysée Palace and author of numerous historical works, Maxime Tandonnet in particular published “1940.

Another November 11 ”(Tallandier, 2009),“ History of the Presidents of the Republic ”(Perrin, coll.“ Tempus ”, 2017),“ Les Parias de la République ”(Perrin, 2017) and“ André Tardieu, the misunderstood ”(Perrin, 2019).

In a column published by Le Figaro on July 28, Mr. Michel Barnier proposed to the French "

a moratorium on immigration

". This statement by the former Minister of Foreign Affairs and former European Commissioner, a possible candidate for the presidential election of 2022, is worthy of the greatest interest.

She shows an evolution of her vision on this subject, judging by the older positions taken on her part: "

We must prepare for the possibility of an even more massive influx [...] The answer is surely not in the closing of our national borders, in the curling up or the attitude of barricading itself, it is in more of Europe

 ”(October 9, 2013). It thus reflects an obvious awareness, among right-wing politicians, of the growing sensitivity of public opinion to the challenges of controlling immigration. Demonstrating a firm position on this subject - neglected for too long at the National Front (then Rassemblement) - is essential as a

sine qua non,

on the right, of any Elyos ambition.

Official statistics show a clear increase in flows to France: 277,000 first residence permits granted in 2019 and 178,000 asylum applications.

They were, respectively, 125,000 and 20,000 in 1995.

Maxime Tandonnet

Indeed, official statistics show a clear increase in flows to France: 277,000 first residence permits granted in 2019 and 178,000 asylum applications. They were, respectively, 125,000 and 20,000 in 1995. How could such an increase in entries for immigration purposes, in a country with 4 to 6 million people deprived of employment, 10 million poor, a public deficit of 9? % of GDP, could it not worsen the phenomena of exclusion and identity and urban tensions that plague French society? 60% of French people are of the opinion that immigration is too important (CEVIPOF, February 2021). No right-wing candidate can now afford to ignore or underestimate this subject.

However, the words have a meaning. What does the term “moratorium” mean? "

Agreement on the suspension of an activity

»According to Le Petit Robert. Mr Michel Barnier therefore suggests suspending or interrupting immigration for a period of 3 to 5 years. The notion of "moratorium" refers in any case to this idea. Such a discourse seems to revert partially to the principle of zero immigration - adapted to a limited period - which characterized the most common discourse on the right until the mid-1980s, then taken over by the National Front. In his column, the former European commissioner specifies that the formula is not limited to a simple political slogan, but to a real ambition. Hence an obvious question that comes to mind: is a moratorium on immigration - that is to say a suspension of this phenomenon - really possible?

In fact, completely or almost completely interrupting immigration for 3 to 5 years - that is to say applying a moratorium - seems difficult to envisage. Should France, even during this limited period, be the only OECD country to refuse any reception of foreign students (80,000 in 2019), including brilliant or motivated students? Does it plan to suspend mixed marriages which represent, by far, the bulk of family immigration (50,000/90,000)? And how? Can it do without any form of labor immigration, especially in construction, public works or IT which employs foreign workers (30 to 40,000 entries in this capacity) in the absence of candidates or skills? on the national market? Should she give up her tradition ofreception of (authentic) refugees (around 30,000 recognized as such each year)? In any case, the notion of a moratorium on immigration suggests so - falsely -.

Mr. Michel Barnier is embarking on a revolutionary path by proposing the adoption, by referendum, of a “constitutional shield” guaranteeing “that the measures taken during this moratorium cannot be ruled out by a French court on the grounds of international commitments of France […] "

Maxime Tandonnet

In addition, the legal constraints are considerable.

The principle of family reunification (the foreigner who brings his family, i.e. 25 to 30,000 per year) is protected by article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, by the preamble to the 1946 Constitution and by a European directive of 2003. These texts prohibit it being entirely suspended (even if they allow it to be restricted by law).

To get around this obstacle, Mr. Michel Barnier is embarking on a revolutionary path by proposing the adoption, by referendum, of a “constitutional shield” guaranteeing “

that the measures taken during this moratorium cannot be ruled out by a French court in reason for France's international commitments

[…] ”. However, this proposal collides head-on with one of the foundations of the European Union, which is the supremacy of European law over national law, including constitutional law, forged by case law and confirmed by Declaration 17 annexed to the Treaty of Lisbon: "

the treaties and the law adopted by the Union […] take precedence over the law of the Member States

". It breaks radically with Brussels orthodoxy. Given his background and his long-standing pro-European commitments, is Mr Barnier the most credible to present it?

At the cost of a firm political will, constancy of effort and unwavering determination, the politician can regain control of immigration to adapt it to the reception capacities of contemporary France: a struggle inflexible, mobilizing all the necessary means, including military ones, against the slave networks which bloody the Mediterranean, an inflexible firmness towards illegal immigration in violation of international and national law, a profound overhaul of the right to asylum and immigration family in the sense of greater control and a relaunch of the co-development policy which links development aid to migration policy.

However, at a time when 80% of the French have lost all confidence in political speech (CEVIPOF February 2021), politicians have every interest in not committing to unrealistic promises or transgressive formulas, attractive but illusory like the moratorium on immigration. Winning the election is one thing. Exercising power with dignity and respect for voters is another, much more difficult to experience.

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2021-08-02

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