France set to detain more new migrants

Nation to double detention center spaces for people being deported

France's interior minister has announced plans to double the capacity of the nation's migrant detention centers — to 3,000 — by opening new facilities in 11 cities during the next four years.

New centers for illegal entrants awaiting deportation will be opened in Nice, near the Italian border where many migrants enter France, as well as near Calais in Dunkirk, Dijon, Aix-en-Provence, and other locations, according to Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin.

"We are going to double the number of places in detention centers, from nearly 1,500 to 3,000," Darmanin told the newspaper Le Parisien. "Each center will be able to hold about 100 people."

Last year, nearly 16,000 migrants were detained in mainland France. And more than 27,000 were detained off the East African coast in French territories including Mayotte.

President Emmanuel Macron wants to make deportation procedures more efficient, reported The Times newspaper.

Only 6.9 percent of the 65,076 illegal migrants who were served expulsion orders in France last year actually left the country, compared to 13.7 percent in 2017.

The announcement from Darmanin comes ahead of a debate in Parliament next month about proposed immigration legislation. The proposed law has been met with widespread criticism, with migrant charities calling for its withdrawal, contending that the philosophy behind it is too repressive.

Even within government, concerns have been raised by some lawmakers regarding the extension of detention duration and the potential normalization of incarceration.

The government claims its proposed immigration legislation aims to strike a balance between firmness and fairness, offering aid to refugees while also tackling issues related to economic migrants.

France has been grappling with the contentious issue of immigration for many years, with debates continuing about its economic and social impacts and the integration process.

The surge of far-right parties, including National Rally, which perceives immigration as a threat to French identity and security, has only intensified these debates. Immigration is a deeply divisive issue in the country, with the far-right demanding new restrictions.

Earlier this year, many thousands of people, including many undocumented migrants, marched in Paris and other French towns to protest against planned changes to immigration law and evictions from the Indian Ocean island of Mayotte.

Demonstrators displayed banners proclaiming 'No to the Darmanin law. Against repression, imprisonment and deportations, for a welcoming migration policy', in reference to the interior minister.

Despite a 480-million-pound ($588-million) financial agreement with the United Kingdom intended to deter illegal Channel crossings, France has intercepted fewer migrants compared to the previous year, reported The Telegraph newspaper in August.

The three-year Anglo-French deal was agreed by the UK's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in March as a key part of his pledge to "stop the boats". The UK has seven immigration detention facilities that can hold 2,192 people. In 2021, the UK detained about 24,500 migrants, according to the Migration Observatory.