France Surpasses Germany as Top Destination for Asylum Seekers in Europe

At the beginning of the migration crisis, Germany far exceeded France, recording ten times more asylum applications. But since October 20, the data has changed. France has become a very popular destination for asylum seekers, while entries into Europe are declining sharply.

"A statistical anomaly, on which we need to work," explained Christian Castaner. A source at the Ministry of the Interior confides that the fact that France is surpassing Germany is "symbolic." And this can be understood because rejected asylum applications elsewhere are reintroduced in France," the minister points out.

To contain this increase, France will overhaul its immigration policy. After the parliamentary debate on the issue, the government has proposed to accelerate the processing of asylum applications, to introduce a three-month waiting period for access to social security for asylum seekers, or to take removal measures as soon as the application is rejected by OFPRA, without waiting for the study of a possible appeal.