WORLD WORLDWIDE EUROPE FRANCE - news journal UPDATE - (en) France, Le Plateforme - In the wake of xenophobic policies (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

Following the bloody crackdown on foreigners perpetrated by ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement), and the referendum by our Swiss neighbors for a migration cap ("No Switzerland at 10 million"), the European Union is not to be outdone and is following suit. It is organizing the closure of Europe and taking a further step in violating the right to asylum and the international principle of non-refoulement.

Within the European Union, we are witnessing an unprecedented regression of the rights of migrants and exiles, and we are heading towards mass detention at Europe's external borders.

To enter Europe, one will have to "show one's papers" in the hotspots, that is to say, in the Regional Disembarkation Platforms, which are in reality centers for the detention and screening of immigrants.

The New Pact on Migration and Asylum of the European Union is an overhaul of the Common European Asylum System (CEAS), comprised of nine regulations and one directive. Adopted in April 2024, it entered into force on June 11, 2026. It is a direct result of alliances between the right and far right, pushing for a security-focused approach that undermines the fundamental rights of exiles and asylum seekers.

The New Pact on Migration and Asylum: Foreign nationals will be checked, identified, and registered, and will be detained in holding areas for seven days. An initial sorting process will be carried out to separate asylum seekers from others. The latter will automatically fall under the common procedure known as "return," which is essentially "deportation."

As for asylum seekers, they will be held in holding areas or detained (for up to three months) while their applications are processed. The choice of host country will not be possible; asylum seekers will have to submit their application in the first EU country they entered (a remake of the so-called "Dublin Regulation"). Some countries will have the right to refuse to accept refugees, those whose right to protection has been recognized, through a financial compensation system misleadingly called a "solidarity mechanism."

In the event of an asylum refusal, the applicant is considered "disqualified," and a host of laws and regulations will facilitate swift deportation and restrict appeal options.

EU member states are also permitted to establish detention centers outside the EU to house those whose asylum applications have been rejected.

Towards Zealous Implementation by France
Several decrees amending the CESEDA (Code on the Entry and Residence of Foreigners and the Right of Asylum) were published in early June, and more will follow in order to implement this complex pact, rife with technical intricacies.

Echoing this legislative tightening, the crackdown on housing for foreigners is being accelerated by a ministerial circular dated May 26, 2026. Faced with overcrowding in accommodation facilities, the aim is not to increase the housing stock to shelter everyone. In the name of "budgetary control," the circular recommends increasing the fluidity of turnover within the accommodation system, in other words, quickly evicting current residents to make way for the next group.

This will be achieved in partnership with the prefectures, which are being urged to expedite the processing of regularization applications "by increasing the level of vigilance and support provided to the processing of these cases at the prefecture, in order to improve the flow of available accommodation." In other words, to increase refusals of residency permits, deportation orders (OQTF), and expulsions in order to free up space.

Even for xenophobes, life isn't always easy.

Some legal experts are already questioning the feasibility of truly implementing this new European pact, given certain particularly convoluted provisions.

While Spain and even Italy have been forced, for economic reasons, to regularize the administrative status of a significant number of foreigners, in France, since January 2025, the Retailleau circular has restricted this possibility.

This circular has been widely condemned by human rights defenders, trade unions, and associations. Today, even employers, some of whose organizations had already expressed skepticism about the circular, are joining the outcry.

According to Le Monde, regularization through employment fell by 54% in the first nine months of 2025. The list of in-demand professions (by region) is highly fanciful and bears no resemblance to reality.

At a meeting on May 26 between labor unions (CFDT, CGT, FO, CFE-CGC, CFTC), employers' organizations (Medef, CPME, U2P), the Minister of the Interior, Laurent Nuñez, and the Minister of Labor, Jean-Pierre Farandou, the Retailleau circular was unanimously rejected.

Unsurprisingly, the reasons for their opposition were not the same for everyone, but still! Employers, still clinging to their utilitarian views of foreign workers, are unhappy and are making their displeasure known, hence the Minister of the Interior's promise of a new circular. A promise that carries no real weight given the upcoming elections.

Latest news
Twelve organizations are challenging the implementing regulations of the European Pact on Migration before the Council of State:

ADA (Asylum Seeker Reception Center) - ADDE (Lawyers for the Defense of Foreigners' Rights) - Les Amoureux au ban public (Lovers in the Public Eye) - Anafé (National Association for Border Assistance for Foreigners) - Ardhis (Association for the Defense of LGBTQI+ Rights to Immigration and Residency) - Elena France (Association of Asylum Lawyers) - Fasti (Federation of Associations in Solidarity with All Immigrants) - Gisti (Immigrant Information and Support Group) - La Cimade - Human Rights League - French Lawyers' Union - French Magistrates' Union

https://plateformecl.org/dans-le-sillage-des-politiques-xenophobes/
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Source: A-infos-en@ainfos.ca