French PM Bayrou sparks outrage with far-right rhetoric on migrant ‘flood’
Prime Minister François Bayrou sparked outrage from the opposition, and indignation from his allies, when he referred to a feeling taking root in France of being “flooded” by immigration. The prime minister was accused of citing the "Great Replacement" conspiracy theory that has fuelled the far right for decades.
Interviewed by LCI television news late on Monday, French Prime Minister François Bayrou said immigration rates in France are creating a sense of being “flooded”, using a term long promoted by the far right to stoke fear.
"Foreign contributions are a positive for a people, so long as they remain proportionate," said Bayrou. "But as soon as you get the feeling of being flooded, of no longer recognising your own country, its lifestyle and its culture, there is a rejection," he said, adding that "we are approaching" this threshold.
“Some cities and regions” are already experiencing it, he said.
The flare-up couldn’t have come at a worse time. Bayrou is to present a long-overdue 2025 budget bill in February, and he is hoping to avoid the same type of no-confidence vote that forced out Barnier over a budget impasse.
The prime minister’s remarks provoked an immediate reaction from the left, with Socialist deputy Arthur Delaporte saying they were rooted in “xenophobia”.
‘Submersion’ theory debunked
Read more on FRANCE 24 English
Read also:
French Interior Minister Retailleau charts new hardline immigration strategy
France orders more deportation flights to Africa from Indian Ocean island of Mayotte