- Pramod Raj Sedhain
pramodsedhain@gmail.com
On October 9, 15-year-old Leonarda Dibrani was expelled from the eastern French town of Levier and deported to Kosovo along with her family. Leonarda’s expulsion has triggered anger against the Government. Emotional student protests and the deported case has been the centre debate over French immigration. Government spokeswoman Najat Vallaud-Belkacem has urged patience while the incident is investigated.pramodsedhain@gmail.com
French President Francois Hollande has offered her return to finish her studies. In a live television speech, President Hollande said, “If she makes a request, and if she wants to continue her studies, she will be given a welcome, but only her.” Later in the day, Dibrani rejected President Hollande’s offer. Prime Minister Jean-Marc Aero had promised in the parliament to provide fixes a potential error in the right of the evicted family and said, “In the event proved an error, the expulsion order will be canceled outside the borders of this family will return to the re- determination of the dossier.”
On September 24, French interior minister Manuel Valls said most of some 20,000 Roma migrants housed in makeshift camps around French cities could never be integrated into the French society and should be “taken back to the border” for transfer to Romania and Bulgaria.
Migration policy has been a major political topic in the past few decades in France and seen a new cause for debate. Immigration has always been a controversial issue of France since 2000 French immigration law has been tight. Political debates expanded over time to include the role of immigration in such issues as national identity, migrant incorporation, security, and terrorism. President Hollande has intended making changes in the French immigration law.
The situation in France has seen some major improvements since he took office. France holds a record for legislative change in the area of immigration. The immigration-flow decreased by the early 1970′s when the economic crisis generated a low employment rate in the country. Since 1973, immigration policy in France focused primarily on stemming and deterring migration. Major reforms were passed in France in 1980, 1984, 1987, 1989, 1993, 1997, and 1998. Immigrants’ integration and promoting French identity, honoring the French tradition’s principle by welcoming political asylum to promote solidarity within the immigrant population was a policy that the country adopted.
France is home to more than five million people of Arab and African descent. It’s colonial past is a major contributing factor in the presence of a richly diverse multicultural population. French Interior Minister Valls criticized the hardliner immigration policies of the former French President and described as “random, discriminatory obstacle course” and expressed the view that immigration should, instead, be an “engine of integration.”
Career of charismatic leader: opportunity or challenges
Manuel Valls, a socialist charismatic leader, action-oriented French Interior Minister is widely considered as the country’s next Prime Minister. In the 2012 presidential election, the energetic leader was the communications director of Socialist party and one of the major pillars of the Francois Hollande election campaign team. The emerging figure of France Valls adopted the harder-line of security policy and now in battle against immigration.
The optimistic Interior Minister strongly defends his immigration policy and saying, “nothing will divert me from my course” following widespread criticism in the media and from his own political party after a 15-year old girl of Roma gypsy origin and her family were rounded up and deported. He said he would continue current efforts to return undocumented migrants to their countries of origin despite criticism. President François Hollande made a televised speech in which he said Leonarda could return to France to continue her studies, but without the rest of her family.
Opposition MPs on both the left and right have joined students in calling for Valls’ resignation. But he has no intention of stepping down, even if the family had been allowed to return to France. The minister popularity describe as “ray of light” and his tough stance on crime and immigration, has internal support but wide outside criticism. Speaking at most of immigrant backgrounds audience of youngsters, the Spanish-born youthful good-looking minister Valls said: “I was born in Spain. I had to learn French. I was naturalized as French. My parents taught me to love France. This country needs optimism.” He added “My stance is not populist”.
The most popular French Minister describing himself as “reformist rather than revolutionary,” he wants to “reconcile the left to the liberal approach.” He is involved in politics when he was 17 when he joined the French Socialist Party. This student of history had an experience of advisor on youth issues (1988 – 1991) for Prime Minister Michel Rocard and Communications Advisor (1997- 2001) of Prime Minister Lionel Jospin. Before being appointed Interior Minister he served as Mayor of the town of Evry, from 2001 to 2012. With the slogan of “The Left Needs Optimism” on June 30, 2009, Valls founded a political organization, for purpose of candidacy for the Socialist primary. But, first primary round in 9 October 2011 Valls defeated and endorsed François Hollande for the second round. A minister had frequently accused for Roma gipsies don’t integrate well in France and called to ‘return to Romania or Bulgaria’. Amidst a backdrop of fresh controversial cause Interior Minister Valls’ political future seems not big shift of popularity, but reflects his hardliner politic against illegal migrant.
