« France: National Assembly Approves Sarkozy's Anti-Terror Laws |
| UK: Muslims "Force Out" Christian Doctor »
November 29, 2005
France: Muslim Riots Lead To Tighter Immigration Controls
From Reuters AlertNet, news that on Tuesday, plans were laid out to tighten immigration controls, with France's Interior Minister, Nicolas Sarkozy saying to parliament that France no longer wanted "those people that nobody else in he world wants."
The Prime Minister, Dominique de Villepin (pictured) told reporters "The government will act firmly and with a sense of responsibility."
Villepin said that there would be a longer wait for citizenship for foreigners who sought to marry French people, a more rigorous selection process for students, and also checks on immigration by families joining a foreign worker already living in France.
He also said he would be demanding strict policing on the practice of polygamy, which is illegal, but has been practised by some immigrants. Centre-right politicians had argued that one of the factors in the recent unrest was that children from large polygamous families had problems integrating into society.
Sarkozy, who had earlier said that he would demand the deportation of rioters said that he agreed with de Villepin. "We want selective immigration" he said.
Current procedure allowed 25,000 people to move to France in 2004 to join foreign workers after only a year. Villepin said that time would be increased to two years. He declared that integration, notably a grasp of the French language should be a condition of bringing famlies to France. That would ensure the future not only of family members but the society.
In 2004, about 34,000 French people married people from beyond the EU and Switzerland. After two years of marriage, these spouses can gain French citizenship. Villepin siad he would be increasing that time to four years if the couple lives in France. Currently, if the couple is living abroad, the wait is three yeas. He will increase that time to five years.
The Prime Minister said that he hoped these changes could be established legally "very quickly".
Posted by Giraldus Cambrensis at November 29, 2005 10:11 PM
Comments
Post a comment
Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)