France is nervous about welcoming a wave of Afghan refugees

Emmanuel Macron has once more infuriated many in France, but this time it has nothing to do with Covid passports or mandatory vaccination.

In an address to the nation this week, the president discussed the disturbing scenes from Kabul as the Taliban invaded the capital of Afghanistan. France, he said, would be a haven for those Afghans ‘who share our values’ but nevertheless the country must ‘anticipate and protect ourselves against significant irregular migratory flows that would endanger the migrants and risk encouraging trafficking of all kinds.’

His rhetoric went down badly with much of the French left. ‘Sordid’ was how two MPs of La France Insoumise summed up the president’s speech, while the Green MEP, Yannick Jadot (a candidate in next year’s presidential election) tweeted that he was ‘aghast’ to hear Macron describe those fleeing the Taliban as irregular migrants rather than the victims they were.

The Green mayor of Grenoble, Éric Piolle, said that Macron had ‘shamed France’, and he has stated that his city is ready to welcome Afghans seeking refuge from the Taliban.