Presidential Candidate Proposes Blocking Remittances to Pressure Deportation Compliance

"You have today 100,000 measures of obligation weighing on people who must leave the territory that we cannot execute. These people are there and are often delinquents. So, I am determined to hit them in the wallet," said the former Socialist minister and presidential candidate on Sunday in "The Grand Jury LCI-RTL-Le Figaro".

For Arnaud Montebourg, the solution to this persistent problem lies in the blocking of money transfers to the countries of origin of the persons concerned. "There are eleven billion dollars in money transfers that go through Western Union across all countries of origin. We are blocking all transfers as long as we do not have a cooperative reception," he proposes, adding that "these private money transfers are a windfall for these countries and we need today to say: enough is enough". The presidential candidate is convinced that the reduction in visas granted to Moroccans, Algerians and Tunisians, recently proposed by the State, is not the solution.

To read: Moroccan Diaspora Remittances Set to Surge 7.6% in 2022, Reaching 75.4 Billion Dirhams

This proposal is very poorly received by the left, who accuse Montebourg of surfing on the themes of the far right, rather than appropriating those of his camp. "It would be a cruel mistake to ban the transfer of wages to the family in the country of origin in the name of the bad actions of governments. Recognize the mistake. There are enough anxieties as it is. Don’t go down this gloomy path," Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the France Insoumise candidate for the presidency, reacted on Twitter.

Manon Aubry, the head of the France Insoumise list for the 2019 European elections, denounces for her part a "shipwreck of political opportunism when those who claim to be on the left follow in the footsteps of Zemmour..." "This proposal is simply lamentable. This money generally serves for basic expenses (food, health, education)," criticizes Pierre Henry, the president of the association France Fraternités. "Out of ideas, Montebourg watched the replay of the videos on my YouTube channel. Well done Arnaud!" ironizes moreover the far-right polemicist and probable presidential candidate, Eric Zemmour.