French Immigration Crisis: The French Refugee Crisis

Immigration and France France is facing economic, safety, and cultural conflicts stemming from the refugee and immigration crisis stemming from the Middle East. The French economy is not in a strong position. With a population of over 60 million, France faces an unemployment rate of 10.6%, and a stagnant five year average growth rate of 0.8% (2017 Index of Economic Freedom). France is currently struggling between taking in large numbers of refugees without the economy or security measures to support them. The refugee crisis has had a severe impact on France and the French people. More and more French citizens are seeing the refugee issue connected to terrorism. A recent study from the “Pew Research Center showed that the refugee crisis and

One such city whose economy has been severely weakened as a result of the refugee crisis is the city of Calais. This city did feature the refugee camp known as the jungle before it was dismantled by the government. Nonetheless the economic impacts are still being felt. In 2016, it was estimated that tourism had dropped by 25 percent, and overall commerce at local businesses had decreased by 40 percent (Davis, 2016). Reacting to these effects, the government and many political parties have taken strong stances either in support or against the increase in

The Conservative Party’s view on immigration is that only those who are coming in to the UK want to work to improve the society. Also, it is listed on the Conservative Party’s platform to create a new citizenship test to ensure those who enter will support British values. Finally, the Conservative Party hopes to close “bogus colleges and making it much tougher for illegal immigrants to remain in the UK by restricting access to work, housing, benefits, healthcare, bank accounts and driving licenses (The Conservatives are building an economy that delivers for people who work hard and play by the rules). On the other side of the political isle is the Labour Party. The Labour Party has a platform of increased border security and border checks, a cap on workers from the EU, and a two-year wait before migrants can claim unemployment benefits (Policy guide: Where the parties Stand). The third largest party by vote percentage is the United Kingdom Independence Party. This party’s stance on immigration is to reduce net immigration, make it harder to immigrate to the United Kingdom, no longer provide amnesty for illegal immigrants, ban all government benefits from immigrants for their first five years in the country, and increase border security personnel by 2,500 (UKIP launches Immigration