Solving the immigration problem in France in the context of elections

Currently, about 67 million people live in France, 8–10% of whom are Muslim migrants. At the same time, about 300–350 thousand only legal immigrants enter the country every year. According to experts, about 96% of immigrants are in an illegal situation , and this is explained by the fact that, having been refused asylum by the authorities, they still remain in the country.

The number of asylum applications is growing every year. For example, in 2015, 20% more applications were submitted than in 2014. As the number of immigrants increases, the load on the social protection system , the crime situation worsens , and social instability increases . Every year, a large number of Muslims obtain citizenship in the European Union. For example, in 2001, 67 thousand people from Morocco and 50 thousand people from Turkey received French citizenship. Since population growth among Muslims is much higher than among non-Muslims, according to various forecasts, already in the 70–80s. XXI century The Muslim population will predominate in the EU countries.

In the 2010s. The number of recently arrived immigrants and their multi-generational descendants in France amounts to 12.2 million people, or about 19% of the country's population. Since ethnic statistics are not kept in the country, the number of people from the Maghreb countries can only be determined by rough estimates (about 1.2 - 1.5 million people).

2/3 of the Muslim population of France consists of immigrants from the countries of the Middle East and the Maghreb, namely Algeria (700–800 thousand), Morocco (about 600 thousand), Tunisia (300–400 thousand), Turkey (about 350 thousand). ) and others (Senegal, Mali, Niger, Pakistan, Iran).

In addition to Muslim immigrants, Muslims who are French citizens and ethnic French who converted to Islam also live in France. In religious and confessional terms, by the beginning of the 2010s. Muslims are now in second place after Catholics and outnumber other religious groups: Protestants and Jews.

The French model of migrant assimilation is not working

In Western Europe, several models of relations with the immigrant population have been developed: the policy of assimilation, multiculturalism, guest workers (no longer exists). France has chosen an assimilation model in which immigrants must adapt and fully integrate into French society, absorb its culture and the values of the Republic.

The French model of integration is based on the principles and ideals of the French Revolution and republicanism, which stipulates that France grants citizenship by jus soli rather than jus sanguinis, without taking into account the religious and ethnic characteristics of the candidate. This gives rise to the idea of automatic recognition by immigrants of republican values (freedom, equality, fraternity).

“France is a country of ethics, not ethnicity.” This is why a model of assimilation of immigrants, or the “republican model,” developed in France. According to French statistics, an immigrant is considered a person who was born to foreign parents outside of France and then came to the country for permanent residence. However, even after receiving citizenship, such a person will continue to remain an immigrant.

France has a number of laws that help immigrants socialize and integrate into French society. The “Law on the Rights of Foreigners in France” has three main objectives: first, to improve the reception and integration of immigrants; secondly, attracting specialists and “international talent”; thirdly, the fight against illegal migration while respecting human rights.

Following the terrorist attacks in 2015, the “Law depriving French nationality” , which applies to those responsible for terrorism .

Despite the fact that France has fairly developed legislation regarding the rights of immigrants and their integration, providing asylum to refugees and protecting their rights, there are certain shortcomings, these measures are not enough. Weak implementation of laws in practice does not solve the existing socio-economic problems of immigrants and does not have any impact on the unfavorable situation in immigrant Muslim areas.

According to legislative and regulatory documents, the French government pays benefits to unemployed migrants, which amount to 281 euros per adult and 184 euros per child. For immigrants, this is enough money not to have to work.

Back in 1991, future President Jacques Chirac said that it was not foreigners who were the problem for France, but their quantity and quality compared to previous waves of migration, and also noted that European migrants created far fewer problems than “Muslims and blacks.”

A French worker receives 15 thousand francs for two with his wife, and an immigrant living in ACHALEM (“HLM” - social housing with low rent, financed by the state with several wives and a dozen children receives 50 thousand francs in benefits).

Receiving such a benefit, which is enough to satisfy primary needs, a person can easily afford not to work, especially considering what wages an unskilled worker can expect.

In addition to benefits, migrants receive preferential health insurance. Children of migrants receive citizenship by birthright, and parents are paid benefits upon the birth of a child.

Required Documents for Immigration and Citizenship

The process of obtaining citizenship includes the following stages:

Obtaining a visa;
Registration of resident status (residence permit);
Submitting an application for citizenship.

The visa is issued at the French consulate. Please note that a French Schengen visa is not suitable for further obtaining a residence permit; a national one is needed. The consulate is provided with a passport, application form, documentary reasons for travel, financial guarantees, and medical insurance.

After arrival, you need to obtain a residence permit in the prefecture at your place of residence. To do this you need to prepare:

Petition;
A certificate from the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs confirming no criminal record over the last decade;
documentary reasons for staying in the country.

For a residence permit, you will need a certificate of knowledge of the French language at a level not lower than B1 or a copy of a university diploma with a high mark in this subject. This document will not be required for refugees, stateless persons who have resided permanently in the country for more than 15 years, and elderly people over 70 years of age.

The documents that need to be prepared to obtain French citizenship are as follows:

Passport for staying abroad;
Internal passport;
4 photographs 35 by 45 mm;
Resident card;
Certificate from the tax service confirming the absence of debts;
Conclusion of the medical commission about the absence of dangerous diseases;
Documents on ownership or rental of real estate in France;
Marriage and birth certificates (if any);
Certificate of good conduct in your home country;
Certificate of passing testing for knowledge of the history, legislation and culture of France.

A fee of €55 is charged for processing an application for French citizenship. Refugees and children are exempt from paying the fee. You can submit documents at the prefecture at your place of residence or at the French consulates. The process of making a decision on a specific case can take up to one and a half years. If the decision is positive, you will receive a notification within six months about the need to take an oath and issue a passport. A negative decision can be appealed within 6 months.

The total cost of French citizenship for Russians consists of the following components:

Visa fee – €60;
The fee for a resident card is €100 or more, depending on the basis of stay;
Additional costs for documents (translation, certification, filing requests).

Crime in Muslim neighborhoods

There is a high crime rate among immigrants. “Sociologists from the National Center for Scientific Research estimate that children of African descent turn into crime 3–4 times more often than French children. In the Paris metropolitan area, a third of defendants are migrants. Among them, Roma are in first place, followed by people from Africa, and most of the crimes are committed by Muslims from the Maghreb countries (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia).”

According to statistics, in French prisons, 60–70% of prisoners are Muslims , despite their share in the French population being much smaller.

Paris is divided into 20 administrative districts. The 10th, 11th, 19th and 20th arrondissements, Boulevard Barbès in the 18th arrondissement, as well as the suburbs or suburbs of Seine-Saint-Denis and Clichy-sous-Bois, where crime and unemployment are among the highest, are considered Muslim. (40 and 20% respectively). The number of people from the Maghreb countries here exceeds 70% of the population.

The country officially has so-called sensitive urban areas , which are disadvantaged. There are 751 such zones in France, and 157 in Paris. Certain policies are being implemented in relation to “sensitive urban zones” aimed at improving the economic situation, since these areas are characterized by high levels of unemployment, poverty and low levels of public safety.

Immigrants coming to France settle mainly in those places where previously arrived migrants already live. 40% of immigrants live in urban Paris, while the French make up 20% of the inhabitants of these areas of the city. For example, the Algerian and Tunisian population of the city (96 and 97% respectively) live in major urban areas of Paris, and 56% of them are concentrated in the Seine-Saint-Denis area. It is this suburb of Paris that is the most densely populated by Muslims, and the lifestyle of the population of Saint-Denis is far from secular: on Thursdays and Saturdays they speak only Arabic - French is banned, there are illegal Muslim schools where children study the norms of the Koran, and girls wear veils.

When describing these areas, journalists and tourists feel not like they are in France, but as if they are in one of the Arab countries: loud Arabic music is playing, mountains of garbage on the sidewalks, people lay out rugs and pray right on the streets; There are local markets nearby, where stolen items are often sold. The high crime rate and low level of security scare off not only tourists, but also local residents.

Buying weapons is not difficult ; they are brought from neighboring Belgium, where there is a well-known black market for weapons in the Muslim region of Molenbeek.

They sell drugs right on the street . The police try not to come to such areas, especially at night. It has its own laws that apply not only on the streets. For example, in Muslim society there is a tradition of castration of girls; in France such operations are not performed, so they are performed at home in unsanitary conditions by unqualified midwives, which is why women develop many diseases in adulthood, and not only of a physical nature.

There are many reasons for this state of Muslim neighborhoods. For example, the left believes that the problem lies in the lack of attention of society and the authorities to the social and economic situation of people from Muslim countries, flaws in the education system and “de facto segregation of immigrants.” Former Prime Minister Manuel Valls compared Muslim neighborhoods to apartheid ghettos.

Representatives of a traditional or religious worldview and lifestyle living in a secular country have two options: adapt to the lifestyle of Western society and accept its values, or try to integrate, preserving their identity and traditional values.

Farhad Khosrokhavar, a professor at the Higher School of Social Studies in Paris, a political scientist and an Islamic scholar, divides Muslim society in France into three categories:

Moving to France

What are the chances of emigrating from Russia?

The easiest option to become a resident of the country of fine wines and delicate interiors is to get married.
The French often look for a wife in Russia, seduced by the mentality of our compatriots. However, for men this scenario is unlikely: local girls prefer to marry their own. The second option is to get a job. However, everything is not so simple here either. Local laws greatly restrict business owners. In order to cooperate with a foreigner, the manager must prove that none of the local residents are suitable for this position. Therefore, this option is available only to people with a very narrow and rare specialization.

You can also open your own business. If you make significant investments into it over the course of 5 years and regularly pay taxes, the government will not be against obtaining a residence permit.

Another simple option: restore family ties. You can get here even if your great-grandmother last lived in France.

Brief description of visa options for entering France

As in all countries that have signed the so-called Schengen agreement, there are several visa options. A person who has received permission to enter Italy, for example, can travel throughout France. But it is more difficult for Russian citizens in this regard: the Schengen principle does not apply to them.

The following visas are available:

Category A. Not suitable for residents of the CIS countries, only Europe and third countries. Very limited rights. Allows only transit travel to third world countries. It doesn’t even allow you to stay on the territory of the country - with this visa you can only stay on the territory of a guarded airport.
Category C. Issued for a period of no more than 3 months, sometimes for transit, used for tourism purposes. You can open it for business trips, but without financial investments.
Category D. Long-term version of the previous visa. You can work, buy real estate and study, get a residence permit in a few years.

Is there a problem with illegal migration?

Not so long ago, residents of European countries knew practically nothing about illegal migration. Our compatriots moved here periodically, trying to survive in difficult conditions and hiding from the authorities. Therefore, the deportation system was not developed, and migrants managed to live in the country.

But the intensification of conflict in the east of the continent forced residents to flee away from the horrors of war. A stream of Syrians rushed to European countries, trying to obtain refugee status. Some people wait patiently for their turn at the border and leave after being refused.

But thousands of people are fleeing into the country without warning anyone. Most often they travel by sea, choosing uncharted paths. And the government is merciless towards such residents. Every year the rate of deportation increases by 20%. Therefore, it became almost impossible to hide from the police.

Extremism and terrorism among Muslim migrants

The life of Muslim migrants in Paris is complicated not only by the polar differences between Muslim and Christian culture, secular and religious society, but also by value priorities. Many immigrants report discrimination based on nationality or religion when applying for jobs. A striking example of this is the story of Nessim Bayad, who grew up in France and studied at a good commercial school. He sent his resume to 75 banks, but did not receive a single response. Then, for the sake of experiment, he replaced his name with “Pierre” and the situation immediately changed, invitations to interviews appeared. There are also exceptions. Shams from Senegal shared his success story. He is the head of French IT. Sanaa from Morocco – Director of Advertising Sales; Rachida Dati, the daughter of a Moroccan painter, was Minister of Justice in 2007–2008.

However, the unfavorable socio-economic environment in Muslim neighborhoods pushes many immigrants to protest against the French government. The most striking and illustrative examples are speeches and demonstrations, riots and pogroms, as well as terrorist attacks in November-December 2005, in January 2015 at the editorial office of the satirical magazine “Charlie Hebdo” and in November 2015.

In the wake of the terrorist attacks in France, the Montaigne Institute conducted an internal study, during which widespread surveys of the population were conducted regarding the Islamization of France. The survey revealed:

46% of Muslims are in the process of integrating into French society, but at the same time do not plan to abandon their religious values;
25% consider themselves very pious and original, as a result of which they believe that Sharia law is superior to all other laws;
29% are completely convinced that the laws of France contradict their religion and foundations, and that they are not accepted into society and are kept “on the margins.”

In November-December 2005, in the Paris suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois, populated by Muslim migrants, two teenagers of Tunisian and Mauritanian origin died after hiding in a transformer box from police pursuing them.

The public reaction to this incident was mass manifestations and demonstrations of Muslim immigrant youth, which were accompanied by the burning of cars and riots. As a result a state of emergency as the riots spread from Clichy-sous-Bois throughout France, and about 300 people were arrested.

If the riots of 2005 were caused by socio-economic factors, including rising unemployment, poor amenities in areas where immigrants live, and were an outburst of accumulated discontent, and the death of teenagers became only a reason for protest, then the reasons for the terrorist attacks of 2015 were already ethno-confessional contradictions in society and French foreign policy. It is known that two terrorist organizations, Al-Qaeda and ISIS, took the shooting of employees (12 people were killed, 11 were wounded) of the magazine Charlie Hebdo Both participants in the terrorist attack - Said Kouachi and Cherif Kouachi - were born in France, the children of immigrants from Algeria.

A whole series of terrorist attacks, which claimed the lives of 120–153 people, occurred in November 2015 in the Muslim suburb of Paris Saint-Denis and the 11th arrondissement, also populated by Muslim migrants. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks, calling the incident “French 9/11” as revenge for Syria. The list of terrorist attacks and speeches is not limited to this; according to media estimates, about 10 terrorist attacks occurred in 1.5 years, due to which France was even called “the most dangerous country in Europe .

Salary levels in France

Minimum salary

The government of the country, famous for its social guarantees, closely monitors the level of wages. On January 1 of each year they set a new minimum wage for residents of the country. However, this figure is growing very slowly - literally by a couple of percent every year.

Important

If we are talking about a monthly rate, the employer is obliged to pay approximately 1,500 euros. If he works more than 35 hours a week, then the head of the company is obliged to pay the difference. There are also restrictions for workers who receive their money for hours worked. They are entitled to receive $8 per hour.

However, the rules apply to all official employees, even if they are not French citizens. Even a resident of Russia who has moved to the country and received a visa can qualify for such a rate.

Net average income per capita after taxes

France is one of the countries with a fairly high standard of living. If we summarize global statistics, we can find that the indicator of housing affordability, income level, safety and health of local residents is much higher than in other countries. But finding a high-paying job is not so easy.

On average, residents receive about 26 thousand euros per year. However, there is a considerable gap between the poor and rich segments of the population. Wealthy families receive almost 5 times more than beggars.

Not everyone works - among adults and able-bodied citizens, only 65% have a place. A large percentage of people working overtime - more than 8%. Among them are mostly men, but there are also women.