In addition to tightened conditions for obtaining legal status in France, undocumented nationals are being subject to additional requirements.
According to local media reports, the Hauts-de-Seine prefecture, as part of the process to get regularised, is making some undocumented migrants undergo six-question tests, Schengen.News reports.
Médiapart, which obtained a copy of the exam, revealed that undocumented migrants are required to answer the following questions:
- What is the motto of France?
- What are the colours of the French flag?
- Who is the President of the Republic?
- Who is the First Lady of France?
- Which river crosses the French capital?
- When is France’s national holiday?
- Where were the last Olympic Games held?
According to local media reports, at the bottom of the sheet, there are two additional questions. Undocumented migrants have to say “yes” or “no” to whether they received assistance in answering the first questions.
Test Request Is Outside Any Legal Framework
A lawyer at a law firm, Nadia, told TSA that in spite of the fact that no law requires them to answer these questions, immigrants without valid documents are threatened with not receiving their receipt if they refuse to answer these questions.
According to Mediapart, in some cases, some undocumented migrants are required to answer questions such as ” Are your wife and daughters allowed to work and go out as they wish? ” or ” If your husband wanted several wives, would you agree? ”
A lawyer specialising in immigration law, Inès, considered these questions sexist, stressing that “everything is linked to Islam, in fact.”
These tests for undocumented migrants have been considered unfair and illegal by several lawyers in France.
Tightened Migration Rules
In a bid to deal with irregular migration and terrorist threats, authorities in France have taken several measures. Previously, authorities in France announced that border controls would continue to remain in place.
Serious threats to public policy, public order, and internal security posed by high-level terrorist activities, the growing presence of criminal networks facilitating irregular migration and smuggling, and migration flows that risk infiltration by radicalised individuals.
In February this year, authorities in France unveiled plans to impose new language requirements. Such a decision could impact the stay of over 300,000 internationals in France.
In addition, the Parliament of France adopted a bill to limit access to France’s citizenship for children born in overseas areas of Mayotte.