This Tuesday, France announced the reduction in the number of visas granted to Algerians, Moroccans and Tunisians. Paris thus claims to want to sanction the Maghreb. Explanations.
Emmanuel Macron is putting more and more pressure on the countries of North Africa. Six months before the presidential election, the migration issue is a subject that comes up regularly in the debate. The outgoing French president, who will run for a second term, has already started his electoral campaign. With a strong measure, but which may well create sparks.
Maghreb nationals, who already had to follow an obstacle course to obtain visas from France, will see the visa quota dedicated to them be reduced. "It is a drastic decision, it is an unprecedented decision, but it is a decision made necessary by the fact that these countries do not accept to take back nationals that we do not want and cannot keep in France" , says Gabriel Attal, spokesperson for the French government.
Paris accuses Algiers, Tunis and Rabat of obstructing when France launches expulsion procedures. Gabriel Attal clearly explains that he is putting a “threat to execution”. The words are extremely harsh. And they cause misunderstanding in the Maghreb, where populations have seen visa applications drastically reduced in recent years. During the first half of 2021, only 31 visas were issued for Algerians, Tunisians and Moroccans, against more than 500 for the year 700.
However, this morning, the spokesperson for the French government announced that the Quai d'Orsay would halve the number of visas issued to North Africans.
Electoral opportunism
Emmanuel Macron's decision can be explained, according to sources close to the presidency, by a drop in the figures for expulsions of illegal Maghreb immigrants or whose documents are no longer valid. For three years, France has become accustomed to organizing deportation flights for dozens of immigrants. A practice however deemed illegal, if we are to believe the European Convention on Human Rights which stipulates that "collective expulsions of foreigners are prohibited".
While other European countries, such as Germany, have decided to channel migratory flows by investing in heavy industries and education, in order to take advantage of human capital, France has opted for a policy largely dictated by the extreme right.
At the end of 2019, Emmanuel Macron had urged the executives of his government to look "in the face" at the issues of immigration. The French president, "clearly, engages in the presidential campaign", had castigated Marine Le Pen who spoke then of political opportunism. While the presidential election will take place in April 2022, Macron seems to want to strike hard, to the detriment of Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco.
Reciprocity: the lack of courage of Morocco and Tunisia
Immigration has become a major political tool. We remember the tensions between Rabat and Madrid on this subject. The granting of visas is also a threat that France poses to the various countries. With around 60% to 65% visa acceptance in 2020 for Algerians, Moroccans and Tunisians who had made the request, Paris should make enemies across the Mediterranean. Especially since French policy in this area is open to criticism: Paris calls on private companies - such as TLScontact - to manage requests, charges exorbitant amounts to applicants and requires solid guarantees by asking for example bank statements. .
And if in fact, the majority of visa applications are accepted, in reality, statistics show that French policy is strict: only 4,3% of visas granted are long-stay visas and 83% of the latter. are work or study visas. If Tunisia and Morocco have always come to terms with French conditions, as scandalous as they are, Algeria has decided to apply reciprocity and force the French to apply for a visa to go to Algiers.
Faced with Emmanuel Macron's decision, will other countries follow the Algerian example? During the pandemic, several African countries, such as Gabon, had decided to apply reciprocity by refusing to welcome European tourists. In Tunisia, could President Kaïs Saïed follow Algiers and make the decision to impose a visa on the French? Tourism, on the spot, is no longer a sufficient source of income and the Tunisian head of state has multiplied, in recent weeks, the speeches on the sovereignty of Tunisia. In June 2020, about the colonial past of his country, he said: "Tunisians have the right to an apology whose wording alone would not be sufficient". Kaïs Saïed then asked for actions. Emmanuel Macron's decision shows that France is always acting in its interest.