Former French socialist leader Benoît Hamon believes that immigration law is counterproductive

Socialist candidate in the 2017 presidential elections and president of a NGO pro-refugee, Benoît Hamon, is today one of the civil society leaders opposed to the immigration law in Francewhich he considers socially and economically counterproductive for the country.

“Every time you want to stop legal immigration, you encourage illegal immigration. It is better to put our energy into welcoming those who arrive, rather than putting up walls, which also do not prevent people from coming.”Hamon told EFE from the Ile de France Regional Assembly, of which he is a regional councilor for the movement he founded, Génération.s.

Hamon, current president of the pro-refugee NGO Singa Global, assured that the reception of five million Ukrainians in Europe in 2022 can serve as an example for those who come from Africa, a continent that will especially suffer the effects of climate change and that will double its population until 2050.

“Are there Ukrainians sleeping rough in Spain?, No; Are there Sudanese, Eritreans or Syrians? Yes, of course, just like in France.”he stressed, recalling a 2001 European directive that gives the possibility of giving foreigners a work permit and accommodation.

“Wars, global warming and poverty are stronger than all the barriers we can put up.”“, he added, while citing a study by several NGOs that ensures that the 40,000 kilometers of cross-border walls built in the last 30 years have not stopped migratory movements, whichand “they are part of humanity.”

The new immigration law voted on Tuesday in the National Assembly, with the votes of a good part of Macronism, the conservative right and the extreme right, contemplates a series of measures that, for the left and NGOs, are discriminatory towards the immigrants, such as the restriction of certain social benefits.

The rule, which still must pass the examination of the Constitutional judges, but which has high social acceptance, according to surveys, aims to stop the arrival of students from outside the European Union (EU), by imposing the payment of a deposit. For the promoters of this law, the student visa opens the door to immigration through the back door.

“Today France does not attract, the data we have from our NGO in Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, tells us that people do not want to come, because there is a lot of xenophobia, Islamophobia,” said Hamon, who considered that those who come do so because they already have family or to work in construction or hospitality.

Immigrants contribute more than they cost

The director of Singa denied being “naive” regarding immigration and recalled that international organizations such as the OECD maintain that foreigners contribute more, via contributions, than what they cost the State for the use of social services.

“Why don’t we hear that the 8% percent of immigrants believe in France the fifteen% of companies?”he became indignant.

Hamon also refuted the right-wing argument that immigrants come to France because of its generous aid system, and linked the high crime rates among this group to their situation. “precarious and irregular” and “to the severity of the courts” with them.

“Do you think that a person who has crossed the Mediterranean risking his life is going to do so to get reimbursed for his medications? If France is so generous, why are there so many people in Calais waiting to cross to England?”he insisted.

For Hamon, who has spent a quarter of a century on the political front line (he was Minister of Education in François Hollande’s government), the problem is that those who approved this law believe that this “Their hatred will calm down.” “However, nothing will be able to soften it, they will want increasingly tougher laws.”

The 2017 socialist presidential candidate, who obtained one of the worst results in the party with a 6% of votes, called “unworthy” the position of the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron.

“We have a president who says he is there to protect the French from the extreme right and then adopts that same program”summarized.