French Interior Minister Defends Deportation Policy for Foreign Offenders

During his intervention, the minister affirmed "assuming a form of double punishment" by sending back the foreigners implicated in acts of delinquency. According to Gérald Darmanin, "France is generous and welcomes with open arms. Common sense is to respect the rules of the Republic, otherwise you leave," he said.

Gérald Darmanin says he rejects "the behavior of Marine Le Pen who says that foreigners are bad by nature" but considers having a "common sense" stance. "I speak to all the French. When Marine Le Pen gets 42%, I assume to speak to the voters. Otherwise, we’ll have a populist win the next presidential election," he continued.

Since January, France has expelled 9,850 foreigners "implicated in acts of delinquency." The Interior Minister is pleased to have achieved "25% more expulsions, of which 50%" towards "Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco."

Given the political situation in Afghanistan and Syria, nationals of these countries are not currently affected by the expulsions. In the event that they are implicated in offenses, Gérald Darmanin assures that they will serve their prison sentences in France and will then be "monitored" but in no case expelled to war-torn countries.