France: Constitution `must be changed'
01 January 1991
France: Constitution `must be changed'
artdoc May=1994
The Supreme Court has ruled that the constitution will have to
be revised to allow France to turn away asylum-seekers without
looking at their asylum claim, as required by the Schengen
agreement. The ruling is seen as a green light for the
constitutional changes demanded by Edouard Balladur.
Small amendments to immigration package
Following the rejection by the Constitutional Court of eight key
laws passed by parliament to restrict immigration, the Interior
Minister Charles Pasqua has re-presented to the Council of
ministers his proposed new immigration laws, amended to take
account of the Constitutional Council's objections. The changes
are minor, mainly concerned with providing safeguards required
by the Council. The automatic ban on re-entry to France for a
year after deportation, for example, has been replaced by a
discretionary ban. Administrative detention of illegal entrants
can be extended from seven (the current level) to ten days only
on the authority of a High Court judge. Safeguards have also been
added to the provisions on marriages of convenience and judicial
detention of those without papers (Le Quotidien 23.9.93).
France could follow Germany on deportation of Romanian Gypsies
In the space of two weeks, the police carried out three raids on
a camp, home to 800 Romanian Gypsies, half of whom are children,
in Nanterre, in the western suburbs of Paris.
The raids were backed by the Interior Minister, Charles Pasqua,
who suggested that France should send the Gypsies back to Romania
at the same time as providing grants for their resettlement via
the French consulate there. The residents of the Nanterre camp,
most of whom have attempted to regulate their situation, say they
came to France to escape anti-Gypsy racism in Romania. The
assistant mayor of Nanterre, Laurent Elghozi, has condemned the
government's proposals. He added that Pasqua's goal of `zero
immigration' is a `lie to confuse voters' (Liberation 1.9.93).
Asylum-seeker commended for bravery receives deportation order
The proposed deportation of Raymond N'Kounko, who had represented
the Congo at the 1988 Seoul Olympics only to be expelled from the
team in 1990 for political reasons, is being reconsidered. On
19 July, Raymond N'Kounko jumped into the river Rhone to save a
would-be suicide. For his actions he received a letter of
official commendation from the Prefect of police. However, at the
same time, the `Foreigners Office' served him with a deportation
order.
The authorities are now reconsidering the case (L'Humanite
4.9.93, Liberation 4,5.9.93, Le Monde 7.9.93, La Croix 8.9.93).
IRR European Race Audit, Bulletin no 6, December 1993. Contact:
Liz Fekete, Institute of Race Relations, 2-6 Leeke Street, London
WC1X 9HS. Tel: 071 837 0041.