Taller sobre la inmigración en Francia. Marie-Laurence de Goñi, profesora del Lycée Marie-Joseph Proyecto I CHANGE Erasmus+

1. Immigration in France

2. What percentage of the French population comes from
immigrants and how many immigrants end up becoming French?
A new global report was released which revealed the countries
migrants are heading to and in what kind of numbers.
The Local takes a look at ten of the most significant stats to give
a picture of immigration in France.

3. 1. Almost a tenth of France’s population are immigrants: 8.8 percent to
be exact. From 2004 to 2012 an average of 200,000 migrants arrived
on French shores every year. Take into account those who left or died
and the figure stands at around 90,000 new immigrants every year.
2. Nearly half of all new immigrants in France are European: Contrary
to popular belief, Africans do not represent the biggest new immigrant
group in France. According to France’s national statistics body INSEE,
in 2012 they made up 30 percent of new arrivals from abroad whereas
Europeans accounted for 46 percent.

4. 3. More Portuguese than any other nationality: Eight percent of
France’s migrant population in 2012 was born in Portugal, more so
than people from former French colonies Morocco and Algeria (seven
percent each). Brits and Spaniards (five percent each) as well as
Italians and Germans (four percent each) made up the largest migrant
groups on French soil.
4. Immigration from Europe started rising sharply in 2009: Crisis-hit
Europeans started arriving in droves in France in 2009. Going from
88,820 new arrivals in 2009 to 105,830 in 2012, migration from other
European countries has seen a much more pronounced increase than
from any other continent.

5. 5. China is the main country of origin for foreign students: Although the
number of foreign students who were granted residence in 2012
dropped by ten percent, a total of 10,100 Chinese nationals completed
their studies in French institutions, more than a sixth of the total. They
were followed by Moroccans (6,000) and Americans (3,800).

6. 6. France is the world’s fourth most popular destination country: "After
the United States, Germany is now the OECD's second most important
destination country,” the Paris-based think tank reported. Trailing
behind is the UK in third place and then France in fourth.
7. More people than ever expelled: There were a total of 23,000
expulsions from French soil in 2012, a nine percent rise compared to
the previous year. Up to 4,300 of these cases were however through
voluntary return assistance. A reduction in the final contribution
provided in such cases led to a drop in the number of immigrants who
chose to leave in 2013.

7. 8. One in four asylum seekers got residency: In 2012 41,000 adults
applied for asylum alongside 14,000 minors. A total of 14,000
(including minors) of these were granted residency. The biggest
asylum seeker groups hailed from the Democratic Republic of Congo,
Russia, Sri Lanka, Serbia and Montenegro, and China.
9. More families reunited: 163,000 new non-EEA immigrants arrived on
French shores in 2012 to stay thanks to a seven percent increase in
admissions for family reunification. Most of these third-country
nationals granted permanent residence were North African: Moroccan
(20,200 people), Algerian (25,000) and Tunisian (12,000).
10. More migrants arriving, fewer becoming French: According to
INSEE, France’s immigrant population is rising at an average of 1.6
percent per year. But that doesn’t translate to more foreigners being
granted French citizenship. In 2012, naturalizations declined to 96,000
cases, 16 percent fewer than in 2011. The OECD puts the drop down
to stricter requirements for language examinations among other
eligibility conditions.