Does France take its fair share of migrants?

France is the third European country in terms of asylum applications received but is only 26th out of 28 when it comes to acceptance rate. EURACTIV.fr reports.

French government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux declared on Tuesday morning (12 June) on French TV channel CNews that France “took its fair share” of migrants, after the Aquarius ship was left at sea the day before.

The rescue vessel which carried 629 migrants was finally authorised to disembark in Spain after being refused by Italy and Malta. France, which would have been a closer and thus more logical solution in this urgent matter, chose to remain silent.

But the statement according to which France has already taken its share of migrants does not correspond to the figures. These last two years in Europe, France has been the third country in terms of asylum applications, after Germany and Italy. In 2017, Germany received 198,255 applications, whereas France received 91,070.

But France is also one of the countries that refuse the highest number of migrants. The European Union on average accepts one in two asylum applications, whereas in 2017, France only accepted one in three.

It is true that national legislations differ and that the criteria for granting asylum are not always flexible, but the law also evolves according to political lines.

France grants very few subsidiary protections while receiving fewer applications than Italy or Germany and responding in a less favourable way.

France is 26th out of 28 when it comes to receiving migrants

The country ranks 26th of the 28 member states when it comes to receiving refugees, as the charts show. Only Poland and the Czech Republic proportionally refuse more asylum applications than France.

French MP Benjamin Griveaux highlighted the fact that France is calling for a reform of the asylum system in Europe with the creation of a European Migration Agency, which Germany has recently joined.

But the creation of a project like this one could take years, and until then, it is hard to say that France takes its share of responsibility when it comes to the migration crisis.