This post was originally published on Hespress
You will shortly be re-directed to the publisher's website
France’s Interior Minister, Bruno Retailleau, said today that the murder of a student identified by authorities as Philippine, allegedly committed by a Moroccan man, will have consequences.
The 22-year-old Moroccan is suspected of murdering the 19-year-old student and leaving her body in a forest.
The suspect was arrested in Switzerland on Tuesday and had been previously convicted of rape. He was ordered to leave France after having served his sentence.
Retailleau called the crime “horrific” and vowed to strengthen law enforcement, tighten immigration laws, and make it easier to deport criminals.
“As leaders, we must refuse to accept the inevitable and build stronger legal protections for the French people,” he said. “If the rules need to change, then we will change them.”
The new right-wing Minister of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau, said on Monday that the government will reconsider its immigration laws including the 1968 agreement with Algeria that eases the entry of Algerian nationals into France.
This agreement, dating back to 1968 and revised in 1985 and 1994, provides Algerians with special provisions for entry, residence, regularization, and family reunification that are more favorable compared to other nationalities.
The minister added that one way to address the immigration issue is to establish agreements with the Maghreb countries, including Morocco, with whom France is already collaborating.
In an interview on TF1’s evening news, Retailleau said that he supports tougher immigration controls, signaling his broader goal of reducing immigration in France.
“I have a goal, because like millions of French people, I believe that mass immigration is neither an opportunity for France nor for the migrants, who sometimes face perilous journeys,” said the minister.
Retailleau said that he intends to use his regulatory power to tackle the issue of illegal immigration, noting his readiness to “go quite far” in implementing stricter measures.
The French minister also announced plans to meet with the prefects of ten departments where immigration-related issues are most prominent.
His directive to these local authorities will be to increase expulsions of undocumented migrants and limit regularizations.
Retailleau said that it’s important to identify any gaps in the system that allow illegal immigration to persist.
The minister called for legislative action, proposing the reinstatement of the offense of illegal residence, which had been abolished under former President François Hollande. He justified this by stating that entering France illegally is a violation of the law.
Retailleau said that he does not rule out the possibility of reintroducing random border checks to strengthen control over immigration flows.
In a broader context, Retailleau hinted at his intention to push for changes at the European level by forming alliances with countries that favor stricter immigration policies to revise outdated European laws on the matter, which he believes are no longer effective.
The post Far right French minister vows tougher immigration laws after student's murder by Moroccan appeared first on HESPRESS English – Morocco News.