A new administrative detention center (CRA) opened on January 17 in Lyon, in southeastern France. Over the past four years, French authorities have doubled the capacity of these facilities which are reserved for migrants awaiting deportation. Aid organizations once again condemn the "prisonization of detention centers" and the "criminalization of immigration."
Eric Zemmour, who plans to run for president in April, has been fined for remarks about young migrants made in 2020. He accused the youngsters universally of being "thieves, killers and rapists."
In the last few days, over 300 migrants have made it across the English Channel from France to the UK. More than 100 were intercepted by French authorities before they got to set sail from the coast. One person was declared dead.
The number of migrants rescued off the coast of Calais and taken in by the French state tripled in 2021, which was itself a record year for irregular Channel crossing attempts, the French Office of Immigration and Integration (Ofii) reported on January 10.
The UN refugee agency UNHCR has sent a document of recommendations for the French and Czech 2022 presidencies of the Council of the European Union, asking to prioritize the protection of refugees in Europe and in the world.
Since October, aid organization Samusocial de Paris has been offering COVID-19 vaccinations twice a week to homeless people, mainly migrants, at Porte de la Villette, in northern Paris. The organization has to face many challenges dealing with this mobile population with little access to the internet and which does not always speak French. InfoMigrants spoke with Maëlle Prioux, head of health projects at Samusocial and Samy Rasli, coordinator of public health actions at Samusocial.
In its offices in northern Paris, the French Office of Immigration and Integration (Ofii) is offering COVID-19 vaccinations to everyone who comes to file their asylum applications. For this population on the move, it is also an opportunity to take stock of their health in general.
The United Kingdom has announced that it will be introducing measures to stop adult-age asylum seekers from posing as underage minors. The government said it would use new scientific assessments to determine the actual age of applicants.
Last year, more than 28,000 migrants crossed the Channel from France to the UK in small boats. At least 44 people died or went missing during the attempt.
Following the brutal eviction attempt of the 'Old Lidl' camp in Calais, another violent incident took place on January 2. Migrants were forced out of the site in the early afternoon. According to the authorities, the process was to facilitate the evacuation that had not been possible a few days earlier and "if possible, to proceed with arrests."
The city of Besançon in eastern France is improving access to housing, employment and health care for migrants who arrive there. The aim is for the city, near the border with Switzerland, to be more than simply a place migrants pass through, but also a place to settle.
The year 2021 was another desperately hard year for migrants. More died at sea, thousands were stranded on the border between Belarus and Poland, and the return of the Taliban in Afghanistan forced huge numbers into exile. But there were also some heartwarming positives: laws to protect the most vulnerable, stories of individual success and of communities in support of one another.