Rechercher

/ languages

Choisir langue
 

France/Immigration

French asylum demands rise 20 per cent

Article published on the 2009-04-03 Latest update 2009-04-03 16:44 TU

Immigrants from the Camoros arrive in Mayotte, French territory(Photo: AFP)

Immigrants from the Camoros arrive in Mayotte, French territory
(Photo: AFP)

Requests for asylum in France rose 19.9 per cent in 2008, says a report released by the French refugee authority, Ofpra. Most of the asylum seekers are from Russia. A large proportion of the applicants come from the Comoros, seeking to gain asylum via the island of Mayotte.

Print the article

Send the article

Comments on article


France received over 40,000 requests for asylum in 2008 and for the third year running was among the countries that take the most refugees in the world.

Key figures in the Ofpra report:

  • 11, 441 people were placed in the protection of Ofpra in 2008, from 42,599 requests for protection; The rate of acceptance went from 29.9% in 2007 to 36% in 2008;
  • People from Iraq and parts of Africa, particularly Somalia and Eritrea, are most likely to be granted refugee status;
  • The remainder of requests come from Turkey, China, and the Democratic Republic of Congo;
  • The number of applications for minors rose by 49.4%;
  • France was Europe's number one destination for asylum seekers.

 

French President Nicolas Sarkozy pledged to get tough on immigration during his 2007 election campaign. His government spearheaded measures to limit immigration to Europe when it held the rotating presidency of the European Union last year.