Macron in major ECHR pushback as France gears up to break rules to expel 'dangerous' foreigners

Emmanuel Macron is gearing up to break European human rights laws as part of a bid to expel "dangerous" migrants from France

PA
Millie Cooke

By Millie Cooke


Published: 24/10/2023

- 12:23

Updated: 24/10/2023

- 16:02

Macron's interior minister has warned that France will remove foreigners deemed a threat before approval from the ECHR has heard their appeals

Emmanuel Macron is gearing up to break European human rights laws as part of a bid to expel "dangerous" migrants from France.

The French Government's latest plan marks the country's most significant crackdown on migration in thirty years.


Macron's interior minister, Gérald Darmanin, has warned that France will remove foreigners deemed a threat before approval from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has heard their appeals.

The plans would see France pay a fine if their removal was found to have violated the European Convention on Human Rights, but Macron would not have to accept them back into the country.

\u200bG\u00e9rald Darmanin

Gérald Darmanin has warned that France will remove foreigners deemed a threat before approval from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has heard their appeals

PA

The plan is aimed at winning over voters on the right as part of an attempt woo those who are considering backing Marine Le Pen's National Rally party.

It will see foreigners who have been served with deportation notices detained for 18 months while the removal process is handled.

The measures would be implemented if they also have a criminal record, or if they are on an intelligence agency watchlist.

At the moment, they can only be detained for 90 days and are often released before the deportation process is completed.

The interior minister is also eyeing plans to make it easier to remove asylum claimants who fail to obtain refugee status.

He is also looking at refusing residency permits for individuals who are unable to speak French and those who support radical Islam.

Echoing Suella Braverman, Darmanin said there are "no taboos" in the fight against terrorism.

Speaking about the policies, he said: "I think the French people ... find that it makes sense that someone given a ten-year jail sentence for terrorist activities can be expelled because they are very dangerous.”

Speaking to French outlet Journal du Dimanche, he said: "We used to wait until we had the opinion [of the ECHR] even if that meant keeping extremely dangerous people on our soil.

"Now we don’t wait. We expel and we wait to see what the court is going to say.

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:

WATCH: Suella Braverman addresses migration 'taboo'

"The consequence of that is indeed a fine."

Fines from the ECHR are around €3,000, often taking around three years for a judgement to be delivered.

You may like