Knocking on France's Door: Migration Policies and Reception Data (2015-2019)

Abstract

Is there an alignment between France’s migration policies and its pattern of receiving immigrants and refugees? Immigrants represent 13.1% of the French population, and debates about their impact and assimilation capacity date back to the 19th century. National and European legislation sets the rules governing entry permits and the conditions for obtaining permanent residence. This article analyzes France’s migration policy based on the legislation enacted between 2015 and 2019 and data on the granting of residence, asylum, and resettlement in the same period. The results reveal: (i) a trend towards open border and better reception conditions due to legislation; (ii) an increase in the number of successful applications for residence and resettlement, accompanied by a decrease in successful asylum appeals, conditioning refugees to stay outside French territory to be accepted.