Letter from an old reader to the editors of the newspaper Le Monde. You speak of a “denial” about French reluctance to welcome more immigrants and cite the economic sectors where such a workforce is welcome. Immediately and locally, you have arguments, but, upon reflection, they appear singularly weak and signal a benevolent rather than truly thoughtful and economical moral attitude. You adopt the option that seems the most sympathetic and the least politically right-wing, but goodness and truth are not necessarily associated.
Pope Francis is very kind to plead the cause of migrants but he does not exercise any kind of responsibility in this matter. I read your account of his stay in Marseille and the statements he made. We find almost nothing on Catholicism or even on religion in general (for a pope, it’s still strange…), but you mention “Muslims enthusiastic about his visit”. That’s already it, we want to say…
The main concern of your editors is obviously not to be on the side of the bastards, or at least the selfish and heartless. But remember that Denmark now refuses immigration. But is it an inhumane and inaccessible country? […] The argument according to which immigrants do the work refused by nationals is true temporarily and locally, but inconsistent as soon as we take a step back.
I have extensively visited and even lived in several foreign countries. How do they do ? In Japan, those who serve or wash dishes in restaurants, or collect garbage, are… Japanese. In China, they are Chinese, while in Brazil they are Brazilian… Let’s give ourselves the time and the means to revalue tasks and remuneration before saying that migrants are irreplaceable. It may be impossible to eliminate all immigration. But arrival flows must be limited and controlled.
What seems deeply scandalous to me is that beautiful souls give lessons in generosity without having to suffer difficulties, which they abandon to less fortunate people. Among the editors of Le Monde outraged by anti-migrant comments, how many live in Bobigny (40% immigrant population) and send their children to schools where more than half of the students’ parents do not speak French? How many would accept drug dealers in front of their mailboxes and various types of traffic at the foot of their building?
[…] There are already five million foreigners in France, without counting illegal immigrants, by definition very difficult to count. Why should there always be more? Time must be allowed for assimilation. In schools, in businesses, you have to know, and possibly master, who sets the tone. We absolutely must welcome those who are actually persecuted, but, in Lampedusa, thousands of Africans arrive, most of whom are simply looking for a little more freedom and a lot more prosperity than in their country.
My stays and my work periods abroad made me feel and measure the extent to which France is a country of plenty: one can insult the President of the Republic and various other authorities without much risk. So try to do the same abroad… Above all, you can obtain food, clothing, schooling, medical care, legal assistance, temporary accommodation, and various social assistance fairly quickly, for free or almost free of charge. On the other hand, it is true that real sustainable housing is difficult to obtain, hence the overcrowding of homes, hence the squats, overcrowding among relatives who are already residents, and the phenomenon of slumlords…
Another finding signaling a major problem: foreigners present in France appear almost ineligible for deportation, even if they are delinquents or have been ordered to leave the national territory. The injunctions are disregarded, the deportations to the border are a charade. In any case, the right to asylum is completely abused. For a single Afghan, for a single Iranian woman fleeing a tyrannical and obtuse regime, there are twenty Africans who consider that we live better in France than in their country. We can understand them, but we cannot receive them all.
[…] There are in France, official figures, 2.8 million unemployed and 2.2 million people who are underemployed, many of whom are foreigners in these two groups. Let’s try to employ these inactive and underactive people rather than continuing to bring in or allow migrants to come. Of course, places and times do not always coincide, certainly zero immigration is probably impossible, but let’s try to better resolve the issue in France and our immediate neighbors, rather than multiplying the “Lampedusa”. If necessary, we will have to denounce certain European agreements if they tie us down.
[…] Let us continue to legally admit the persecuted and the truly useful workers, let us assimilate those who will rightly remain. Let’s expel illegal immigrants and delinquents. For the rest, let’s show determination. There are a wide variety of economic problems, from country to country and continent to continent, and there is a global demographic problem. It is absurd to think or suggest that Europe will or could be the solution for Africa…
André Massot, Paris
