The government intends to make « impossible » the life of foreigners subject to an obligation to leave French territory (OQTF)in its future bill on immigration, announced Thursday, October 27, 2022 the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin, on France Inter.
“We have a job to do to make life impossible for OQTFs in France”, said the minister, pointing out as an example the fact that“today someone who is the subject of an OQTF can still have social housing”.
“Too complex” legislation
The expulsion measure is the subject of recurring controversy, in particular over its actual rate of application, which the government wants to increase with the help of the law. This controversy was rekindled after the savage murder of a 12-year-old girl, Lolawhose suspect is an Algerian national under an OQTF.
On this subject, the Minister of the Interior deplored a “too complex law to expel a foreigner in an irregular situation, with up to twelve administrative and judicial remedies”.
According to him, ” more than half “ of the 120,000 OQTFs taken are not enforceable due to administrative appeals. The upcoming bill plans to divide this possible number of appeals by three, from twelve to four, explained Mr. Darmanin, planning on this subject “a great and very complicated parliamentary debate”.
Achieve 100% completion
The project also plans to “lift protections for a certain number of foreigners”, said the minister, citing the need to end the double sentence system, which sees a convicted foreigner having to serve his sentence in the territory before his deportation. The abolition of this measure would allow, according to Mr. Darmanin “to deport 4,000 additional foreign offenders per year”.
Thursday evening, President Emmanuel Macron said he wanted “in-depth reform of the rules, our laws, to simplify procedures” of expulsion, on the occasion of a new law on asylum and immigration which must be presented “in the first half of next year”.
“We are going to tighten the rules” pour “go to these 100%” application of obligations to leave French territory (OQTF), deportation procedures of which only less than 10% are carried out.