France expelled more than 2,700 undocumented immigrant offenders: Interior minister

By Shweta Desai

PARIS (AA) - France has expelled more than 2,700 foreign immigrants in the last two years for engaging in criminal activities, the French interior minister said Tuesday.

A total of 2,751 foreign offenders have been deported, including 900 for domestic violence, according to information shared by Gerald Darmanin with French radio RTL. Around one-quarter of the immigrants subjected to expulsion orders were deported.

A majority of those expelled, particularly in the first half of 2022, are from the North African and African countries.

Darmanin said his office rejected applications for residence permits of nearly 72,000 foreigners due to criminal records.

The issue of foreign offenders is once again in the spotlight after Darmanin was criticized for expelling an immigrant foreign national Sunday for allegedly assaulting three policemen in Lyon.

The suspect was caught last week by plainclothes police for allegedly snatching a gold chain in the Guillotiere neighborhood. The situation quickly escalated into a fight as civilians tried to free the suspect who was pinned to the ground by police and additional reinforcements had to be called in.

Although the Lyon prosecutor's office declared the immigrant was not guilty, the interior minister has been firm on his expulsion order, claiming the suspect was a repeat offender.

“Foreign offenders have no place in France,” he said.

The Guillotiere district, largely inhabited by marginalized black and immigrant families, is frequently raided by police. Since Jan. 1, 700 police operations have taken place in the area, according to a Le Monde report.

Immigrants in “irregular conditions” who are undocumented or have not received asylum are subjected to regular harassment from law enforcement agencies.

They do not receive accommodation or financial support from the state, unlike documented refugees. They are constantly engaged in a cat-and-mouse game with authorities in an attempt to stay in France or to try and reach Britain by crossing the English Channel.

Hundreds of immigrants are killed every year while trying to escape law enforcement or undertaking dangerous crossings to reach a safe place.