Illegal immigration to the EU is a matter of huge concern and it seems that the French President Nicolas Sarkozy has taken the role of leadership to screen illegal migrants from getting free access. Mr. Sarkozy has always maintained his inclination to stop illegal immigration to France and now four months after his election as the President of his country, Mr. Sarkozy is ready to demonstrate that he can and will fulfill this mandate.
Sarkozy is a hardliner when it comes to law and order issues and he has also promised to revitalize the French economy. To achieve greater growth, the President feels that he needs to filer out unskilled, illegal immigrants who are more of a liability than an asset to the French economy. And to check the influx of these immigrants, the President has formulated a new Bill that has already been sparking controversies and anger throughout French politics.
According to the new bill that is currently being debated on in the French parliament, potential migrants to France wishing to join their family members and relatives would have to undergo a DNA test to prove their kinship. The test is voluntary and would be administered only when the concerned authorities have doubts over birth and marriage certificates.
The test is of course voluntary and several people are quite comfortable with the idea of going through this procedure. Yet in several other quarters, there’s a feeling that Mr. Sarkozy is actually on the way to making this DNA test compulsory and immigration to France would then become more difficult.
The DNA test formula comes with strings attached. Potential migrants to the country would also have to take a compulsory French language test before they get approval for a VISA. Moreover, parents who want to join their family members in France would also have to sign an immigration contract although a minimum revenue would be kept for those seeking to induct family members into the State.
The governing UMP right-wing party is confident that he new and tougher immigration laws would be accepted by the people since they would actually help check the vast number of illegal migrants to the nation but the Socialist-led opposition says that these new measures would actually make France less receptive to immigrants and that could lead to problems in the economy in the long run.
President Nicolas Sarkozy’s vision to restrict unskilled immigrants from flocking into France is quite a noble one but whether he van convince the French parliament and, more importantly, the French people remains to be observed.
Image Source: Overseas Property Mall
Source: Al Jazeera
