The simplest answer is more money. The prefecture is chronically underfunded, which leads to huge backlogs. Instead of investing in more staff to answer phones and process visa applications, the French state has focused on militarized responses. It's not notmal when you have to call the prefecture every day for a month to try to get an appointment to renew your visa, yet police armed with military grade weapons are patrolling low income communities en masse looking for undocumented immigrants to ticket and send to a retention center.
Housing is another major issue. Most migrants arriving in France end up sleeping rough, which can lead to them being recruited into trafficking gangs or violently aggressed -- not to mention the tragic health consequences living on the street can have on their physical and mental health. The phone number that they are supposed to call for emergency housing is oversatured so they end up relying on NGOs that are chronically underfunded and increasingly demonized.
Migration across the Mediterranean IS certainly a major issue, but other countries in Europe have done a better job at integrating them (and yes some have done worse too). Hope this answer helps!
Following your story. Really interesting.
How would you reform the current asylum system, including France's deportation system? Especially in the context of Mediterranean crossings.
The simplest answer is more money. The prefecture is chronically underfunded, which leads to huge backlogs. Instead of investing in more staff to answer phones and process visa applications, the French state has focused on militarized responses. It's not notmal when you have to call the prefecture every day for a month to try to get an appointment to renew your visa, yet police armed with military grade weapons are patrolling low income communities en masse looking for undocumented immigrants to ticket and send to a retention center.
Housing is another major issue. Most migrants arriving in France end up sleeping rough, which can lead to them being recruited into trafficking gangs or violently aggressed -- not to mention the tragic health consequences living on the street can have on their physical and mental health. The phone number that they are supposed to call for emergency housing is oversatured so they end up relying on NGOs that are chronically underfunded and increasingly demonized.
Migration across the Mediterranean IS certainly a major issue, but other countries in Europe have done a better job at integrating them (and yes some have done worse too). Hope this answer helps!