Sarkozy’s Take on Immigration Reform

Nicolas Sarkozy, the French Interior Minister whose inflammatory statements were cited as a motivating factor last year’s riots, has proposed an immigration reform plan for France.

“‘We no longer want immigration that is inflicted [on us],’ he said. ‘We want selected immigration. The system of integration the French way no longer works,’ he told Le Journal du Dimanche in an interview. . . . The draft law calls for the creation of a points system for students and workers that gives them rankings depending on the country of origin and their field of work and study. . . . Immigrants applying for lengthy stays would have to respect a list of obligations as part of a new ‘contract of welcome and integration.’ These include learning French and actively looking for a job. In return, they would be ‘protected against discrimination’ and given 10-year residency permits…..”

It’s not clear whether Sarkozy envisions that French citizens and institutions have a role to play in these “integration” efforts. There is no hint of such a thing in his recent statements.

Sarkozy paints integration as a one way street. But developing an inclusive and tolerant society is the job of a nation’s citizens as well as its immigrants.

The full story om Sarkozy’s plan is available on the London Telegraph website:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/02/07/wsark07.xml

-jmc