Immigration in Europe - HumanitarianNet - Universidad de Deusto

122 EMMANUEL MA MUNGThe right-wing Minister of the Interior N. Sarkozy, in a televisionprogramme broadcast in December 2002, judged it to be unrealistic,just as prime minister J.P. Raffarin has done in several declarations.In October 2002, J.P. Raffarin presented his immigration policy atthe re-election of the “Haut Conseil à l’Intégration”. The choice ofvenue was clearly symbolic. He came down against the right offoreigners to vote and took a stance in line with French tradition:maintaining the national character of citizenship (for non-EU citizens),but encouraging the acquisition of French nationality and with it theright to vote: “Let us not open the door to the right to vote forforeigners and close the door giving access to nationality. That wouldgo against our tradition […] There are currently 100,000 naturalisationsper year in France. This figure shows that naturalisation is a realpossibility in our country.” According to his declarations, his policy is tobe organised in three main themes: a policy of accepted immigration; aproject of renewed integration and a reworked campaign againstdiscrimination. Le Monde of 24 October 2002 summed up the mainpoints of the policy thus:The government’s plan aims to develop a positive immigration inFrance. According to Raffarin: “necessary immigration control” willresult in a reform of the asylum procedure, setting up statisticalanalyses needed for a “detailed assessment of the situation” and theefficient organisation of the policy “to send people home, whether ona forced or voluntary basis.” He added: “Immigrants who are acceptedand welcomed on arrival will spare us distressing immigration problemsin the future that we have experienced before.”Conversely, the reception of legal immigrants is a “nationalquestion”. The prime minister continued: “It concerns taking in withdignity the 100,000 legal immigrants who arrive in our country eachyear.” The reception contract planned by the government will offerthese immigrants opportunities for language training, guidance onvocational training and access to state controlled employment. Inexchange, the candidates will have to take on civic commitments. Hestressed: “ A public policy of integration has first and foremost apolitical objective to ensure that children of immigrants living in ourcountry all have the same rights and duties.”The third pillar in the integration policy aims to campaign effectivelyagainst discrimination. Mr. Raffarin hammered out: “Several generationsof young people ‘born of immigrants’ have full Frenchcitizenship —which some people still seem to find difficult to grasp.”This policy can be interpreted as an incentive for immigration whilemaintaining strict entry controls as well as a policy of integration based