In his controversial opening remarks before a parliamentary debate on new draft legislation on asylum and immigration, Gérard Collomb said that several regions in the country are "breaking up because they are overwhelmed by the inflow of asylum seekers."
"If we stand still, several hundreds of thousands of people will have to be welcomed every year in France," the interior minister said in his speech in support of the proposed bill.
''Adding misery to misery''
"Is it possible for us to build a new medium-sized city to welcome these refugees each year," the minister asked the National Assembly in Paris. "If we don't do it, where will they go?" Without new cities, Collomb said, refugees were bound to move to disadvantaged districts, ''adding misery to misery''.
The interior minister said that "solidarity" and "generosity" were important, but that all people who had no right to asylum should be taken back to the border.
Criticism for Collomb
Among the critics of Collomb's speech was "Libération." The left-leaning newpaper criticized the minister harshly, writing on Thursday that Collomb had "just proven that he can not be taken seriously."
"By mentioning a migration wave, overwhelming some regions of France, Collomb not only made a moral mistake, using the vocabulary of the radical far-right. He also [...] took great liberties with regards to facts and figures. France has not in any way been affected by an dramatic influx of migrants since the height of the refugee crisis in 2015, unlike Greece, Italy or Germany."