Record 100,000 asylum claims in France, mostly from Albanians

Asylum claims in France hit a record 100,000 last year, as president Emmanuel Macron’s government drafts contentious laws on immigration.

Officials yesterday said that Albanians formed the biggest group of applicants, even though their country is considered safe by France.

“It confirms that France is one of the countries receiving the most asylum claims in Europe,” said Pascal Brice, head of the French refugee protection agency.

But Mr Brice said that the number was half of those recorded in Germany last year.

Mr Macron’s government is preparing its immigration bill next month but his Republique En Marche party is divided on how to tackle the problem.

He and prime minister Edouard Philippe have vowed to speed up the process for asylum requests and provide better living conditions for successful applicants.

But they have also promised a much tougher line on economic migrants, which would mean more deportations and tighter controls on applications.

France last year deported 26,000 people, a 14 per cent increase on the year before, interior minister Gerard Collomb said yesterday.

In his New Year’s message, Mr Macron warned that France “cannot welcome everyone”, although he pledged an immigration policy that walked the line between “humanity and efficiency”.

About 7,600 Albanians applied for asylum last year and almost all of them were to be returned because their home country is considered safe.

Mr Brice attributed the 66 per cent jump in Albanian claims to “economic emigration”, which he said was worrying authorities in both countries.

Afghans made up the second-biggest group last year with nearly 6,000 applicants, followed by migrants from Haiti, Guyana and Sudan.

Applications from Syria were down 10 per cent to about 3,000, although almost all were granted asylum.

The agency also reported a sharp rise in applications from West Africa. Mr Brice said they were part of the wave of migrants crossing to Europe from Libya.

In December, migrants’ rights groups criticised a decision to take a census of the population of migrant shelters, saying this went against their mission to provide unconditional aid.

Under pressure, Mr Philippe promised a public consultation.