France: A Study on Afghan Asylum-Seekers in France

A new study has been published by the French Office of Immigration and Integration (Ofii) showing the dramatic increase in Afghan refugees in France. Of particular interest is the overrepresentation in crime, a poor record of integration, and the fact that Afghan women make up less than 20% of the numbers, even though their obvious repression by the Taliban regime would give them a priority in gaining asylum. Or so one would think.

The article below from Le Figaro is translated by Fousesquawk. The report was initially reported by Le Point, but the article is subject to a subscriber block.

 

Immigration: More than 100,000 Afghans are living in France, requests for asylum increasing "exponentially".

By Elisabeth Pierson

Three days ago

Caption: Afghan refugees at Place de la Chapelle, Paris, October 2024

A report for Fondapol (progressive think tank) and the Observatory for Immigration and Demographics shows that Afghans have become the leading nationality in requesting asylum after the Ukrainians. A "massive, recent, and unexpected phenomenon in its size," says the report prepared by Ofii.

In 2007, some 1,600 Afghans were living in French territory, according to Insee*. Twenty years later, there are 100,000, of whom three-quarters arrived in the past 10 years, a report for Fondapol and the Observatory for Immigration and Demographics reveals. This report, published on June 6 by the French Office of Immigration and Integration (Ofii), underlines a "massive, recent, and unexpected phenomenon in its size," according to its Director General, Didier Leschi. 

That is because among the Afghan community, three-quarters arrived after 2016, the report reveals. 89,000 hold a residence permit, and more than 10,000 others were being processed by Ofpra**  (French Foreign Affairs Ministry) in 2024. Depending on the time needed to process, "they will recieve a residence permit in 2025 or 2026. This propels the Afghans into the top 10 nationalities holding a residence permit," even though the historical ties between France and Syria are older and deeper, France having exercised a mandate over this country (Syria) beginning in 1918".

Protective system

Among European countries, France is one of the favoured countries, yet far behind Germany, which registered 34,000 asylum requests for the entire year of 2024, compared to 10,300 for France. Why (France)? The report notes that the provisions are more favorable for Afghan refugees. While the average rate of protection for Afghans in Europe (that is, the rate of asylum request approvals) is at 63%, remaining very low in Sweden at 40%, it remains above 70% in France.  It is a reality that favors the "secondary movements": people turned down in other countries in the European Union who turn to France to try their luck again.

The phenomenon accelerated in 2015, even becoming "exponential", according to the report, after the capture of Kabul by the Taliban in August 2021. In 2015, there were 2,200 initial asylum applications. In 2016, 6,000. In 2018, 9,500, and in 2023, 17,500. As a result, today, the Afghans are the leading nationality requesting asylum in France after the Ukrainians, benefiting from a system of exceptional request. There are yet more than 13,000 Afghans who filed a request in 2024.

Difficult integration

However, their number is not proportional to their degree of integration. The Afghans remain marginalized, primarily by a strong cultural divergence. According to a study by the Pew Research Center in 2013, cited in the report, 99% of Afghans declared themselves in favor of sharia, and 85% for stoning for adultery. Their weak educational level also constitutes a significant obstacle to integration and access to employment. More than 40% of those queried by Ofii stated they never received an education, in spite of 20 years of the "Islamic Republic" in Afghanistan under the influence and presence of the West.

This growing community in France is also noted for an overrepresentation in crime. In France, where ethnic statistics are prohibited, we know that foreigners represent 25% of convicted prisoners while they only make up 8.2% of the population. In Germany, Afghans make up 2.3% of those charged with violations, a rate 5 times higher than their demographic weight in the country. Sexual crimes are particularly concerning, reflecting "the difficulties of relations between women and men and the devaluation of women, a major cultural problem as we know in Afghanistan," the report emphasizes. For example, Afghans are 21 times more present than other nationalities in cases of sexual abuse of minors and are strongly implicated in violations connected to child pornography or violence.

Finally, the report underlines the underrepresentation of women in this Afghan immigration to France. "Almost invisible", they represent less than 20% of the exiles, a rate mostly due to the system of family reunification. The report urges an "analysis" of this phenomenon, at a time in which the Afghan (women), harshly repressed by the Taliban regime, now benefit from a collective right to political asylum. Their underrepresentation in the Afghan community, "cannot be explained solely by the difficulties of the migratory routes," Ofii believes.  "It is also a reflection of a deeply-rooted mentality  that remains ingrained in the men, even the refugees."

Translator's notes: 

*Insee is the National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies

**Ofpra is the French Office for Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons. It is under the Ministry of Interior.