Fifteen thousand people have arrived from Ukraine in France since the invasion of the country by Russia, mainly women and children, said Tuesday on Europe 1 the Minister Delegate for Citizenship, Marlène Schiappa.
These people are "displaced" and not "refugees", she said, pointing out that it takes several months to obtain refugee status.
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“We have created, at the instigation of France, a European temporary protection status which is being put in place immediately.
(…) This is the first time that this has been put in place.
This will allow them to return to Ukraine for those who want to return to Ukraine,” she explained.
A trip near Angers with Emmanuel Macron
Ms. Schiappa denied that the mobilization of the public authorities had a link with the fact that this immigration was “European, white and Christian”, in the words of the interviewer.
“For Afghanistan, we mobilized in the same way,” she assured.
Marlène Schiappa on the Ukrainians: "We will make sure we can cope for these refugees (...) This is what we have done for the Afghans (...) France has a great tradition of asylum"
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Marlène Schiappa is to accompany President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday to a reception center for Ukrainian refugees opened in the suburbs of Angers.
France is able to accommodate up to 100,000 refugees, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said on Monday.
More than 2.8 million people have fled Ukraine since the start of the invasion, according to a count released Monday by the UN, which also lists around 2 million internally displaced people.