The circumstances of the death of little Lola and the profile of the suspect, of Algerian nationality and subject to an obligation to leave French territory (OQTF), have aroused strong criticism on the right and the far right. If the child’s parents have regretted the attempts to recover this terrible tragedy politically, political discussions continue. This Thursday, the Minister of the Interior announced the government’s intention to make the life of foreigners subject to an OQTF “impossible”.
“We have a job to do to make life impossible for OQTFs in France” in the future immigration bill, said Gérald Darmanin on France Inter, highlighting as an example the fact that “today someone one who is the subject of an OQTF can still have social housing”. “A foreigner who has arrived legally on the ground [français] and who loses his status, becoming irregular, should no longer be able to keep his social housing”, insisted the minister’s entourage.
“Too complex a right” to expel
The expulsion measure, known as OQTF, is the subject of recurring controversy, in particular over its actual rate of application, which the government wants to increase with the help of the law. This controversy has been revived since the savage murder of Lola. On this subject, the Minister of the Interior deplored a “right too complex to expel a foreigner in an irregular situation, with up to twelve administrative and judicial remedies”.
According to him, “more than half” of the 120,000 OQTFs taken are not enforceable because of administrative appeals. The upcoming bill plans to divide this possible number of appeals by three, from twelve to four, explained Gérard Darmanin, by providing on this subject “a great, very complicated parliamentary debate”. The government is also considering “lifting the protections for a certain number of foreigners”, said the minister, citing the need to put an end to the system of double sentencing, which sees a convicted foreigner having to serve his sentence on the territory before his expulsion.
An “already” impossible situation
The abolition of this measure would allow, according to him, “to deport 4,000 additional foreign offenders per year”. Making life “impossible” for foreigners in an irregular situation, “this is already the case currently”, denounces Mélanie Louis, responsible for expulsion issues at the association La Cimade, for whom the measures of the bill will break France with the “rule of law”.
According to Mélanie Louis, it is moreover “completely false” that a person affected by an OQTF is entitled to social housing in France: “these people simply benefit from the unconditional right to a place of accommodation in emergency via 115 [le numéro d’urgence dédié aux sans-abri]but in no case to an HLM”.
“100% application” for evictions
Thursday evening, President Emmanuel Macron said he wanted to “reform in depth the rules, our laws, to simplify the procedures” of expulsion, on the occasion of a new law on asylum and immigration which must be presented. “We are going to toughen the rules” to “go to these 100%” of application of the obligations to leave French territory, expulsion procedures of which only less than 10% are carried out. “in the first half of next year”.
“We are going to toughen the rules” to “go to these 100%” of application of the obligations to leave French territory, expulsion procedures of which only less than 10% are carried out.