Immigration Laws: September, 1994 - Number #11
French Interior Minister Popular with Immigration Stand
In a profile of French Interior Minister Charles Pasqua, it was noted that the
law-and-order minister's efforts to "protect France from illegal immigration"
is making him just as popular with the French public as he was during his first
stint as interior minister between 1986 and 1988. There is some speculation
that Pasqua may run for the presidency next year.
Pasqua is credited with stopping an "invasion" of Third World immigrants by
leading the effort to limit access to asylum, to make it more difficult for
immigrants to unify their families in France or to become French citizens
through marriage, and for changing a rule and requiring French-born children of
foreigners to apply for French citizenship at 18 rather than acquire it
automatically.
Alan Riding, "French Rightist is Riding High," New York Times, August 3, 1994,
A4. John Ridding, "Capture of Carlos makes Pasqua's summer: France's bluff
interior minister is emerging as a force to be reckoned with," Financial Times,
August 20, 1994.
