Three Nigerian migrants have died over the weekend in a fire in the southern French city of Marseille. Panicking, they jumped out of windows of the public housing building where they were squatting, officials said. A young child was taken to a hospital in serious condition.
A publication by the far-right party Rassemblement National (RN) about the allegedly "high cost" of unaccompanied minors has provoked the ire of a number of French lawyers. They have decried the "unworthy comparisons" and the "inaccurate" and even "delusional" statements made by RN.
French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin announced last week that he had stripped 147 'radicalized' migrants of their refugee status. This announcement causes legal issues, particularly regarding its implementation. It also raises questions about the impartiality of Ofpra, the body responsible for granting international protection.
Seven leading non-profit organizations have filed a complaint with the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child in a bid to secure an international investigation into France's management of unaccompanied minors. The activists accuse the French state of "serious violations" in the protection of this vulnerable group.
Receiving refugee status does not mean the end of dealings with the French administration. From getting residence permits to housing and benefits, InfoMigrants takes you through the first bureaucratic steps as an officially-recognized refugee.
The coast guard was alerted that several boats were in trouble as they attempted to cross the English Channel to Britain.
In January, the French state secretary for children and families announced a future "ban on the placement of children in hotels". The vast majority of young people placed in hotels by the child welfare agency are unaccompanied foreign minors. Fatima*, now an adult, remembers her time being moved from hotel to hotel. This is her story.
16-year-old Ali comes from Guinea Conakry. He arrived in Paris a few weeks ago and is still trying to get officially registered as a minor. Without a support network or anyone to take care of him, this teenager is struggling to cope. It's especially hard for him to find accommodation, at a time when temperatures are getting colder.
Following the demolition of an informal migrant camp on the Place de la République in central Paris, various NGOs have drawn attention to the fact that migrants are regularly victims of police violence across France. They also say that the use of force in such contexts is futile – especially without a coordinated migrant reception strategy.
Fever, a persistent cough and difficulties breathing… COVID-19 symptoms can lead to serious complications and may require emergency treatment. For migrants living in the streets, knowing where and how to go for a test can be tricky. InfoMigrants tells you more:
People across Italy have expressed their shock at the news that Brahim Aoussaoui had remained in Italy for weeks prior to committing three gruesome murders in Nice. The 21-year-old Tunisian had originally arrived on Lampedusa.
Following the October 16 beheading of a French schoolteacher by a Chechen refugee in the Parisian suburb of Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, several media reports and statements by politicians have featured factually inaccurate or false information concerning the right to asylum in France. InfoMigrants examined and fact-checked these statements.