I'm podcasting two things to keep in touch with the homeland: the France Culture midday news and the France Inter morning press review. The two together last less than half an hour but I've found it a very efficient way to keep an ear on France's pulse.
One thing that's been all over the news recently is the new immigration law (loi Hortefeux) that the French government is trying to pass (has partly passed). Like every country of the Western hemisphere, we're trying to toughen the law so fewer foreigners can get in (because we all know that doesn't drive immigrants underground but actually stops them from coming). Two amendments in particular caught my attention:
- One would make it mandatory for new immigrants (joining their families in France) to pass a test to check they know about France's institutions and can speak French before they immigrate to France. From what I understand, it would be something similar to the test people take in the U.S. when they want to become U.S. citizens. There are dozens of things that are wrong with this amendment, and it sounds to me like obvious discrimination against Third World countries. I can imagine it's immensely harder (and comparatively, more expensive) to learn some French in Somalia than it is in New Zealand; not to mention I strongly doubt that a rich American businessperson who'd want to settle in France but doesn't speak French would be sent back to the border. I'm
assuming refugees and asylum seekers would be spared the test. But let's admit it, what an efficient way to choose who we want, and to make sure we keep people who are culturally different away.
In French, an article from Le Monde:
Immigration : les députés votent l'article sur les tests de français pour les étrangers.
An extract from the video which will be shown to foreigners abroad prior to their arrival in France. I'm half-touched by the presentation of a country which I ultimately like and respect, and facepalming at how simplistic it is. I particularly like the bit where the voiceover goes "France is a secular country" while they're showing an image of a Catholic cross on a church. In French and for your viewing pleasure:
watch it here.
- The other amendment (amendement Mariani) would offer the possibility to families to use DNA to prove their filiation with the person they're trying to join in France. Two huge problems that I can see and haven't really seen or heard discussed. One, DNA testing is probably not going to be cheap. Again, this would favorize rich people (and people who can afford to wait) over poorer families. Secondly, DNA testing only proves
biological filiation. What of adopted children? Children raised by stepparents, for any reason (and there are dozens)? In a day and age where we desperately need to learn to disassociate filiation from biological reality, this is a huge step in the wrong direction for me, and it makes me truly mad because it seems to establish a hierarchy between "true" family links (biological ones) and "false" ones (social ones).
In French, another article from Le Monde:
Les députés ont entériné le recours aux tests génétiques pour les étrangers.
In short: I don't like where we seem to be heading.
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littlegothsin for posting a link to it!)
