French PM sparks outrage with immigrants 'flooding' France remark

Prime Minister Francois Bayrou drew sharp rebukes including from some of his allies on Tuesday after saying there was a growing feeling that immigrants were "flooding" France.

While the leftist opposition accused Bayrou of spreading far-right ideas and centrist allies also criticized him, immigration hardliners in the government and outside praised his suggestion.

"Foreign contributions are a positive for a people, so long as they remain proportionate," Bayrou told the LCI news channel late Monday.

"But as soon as you get the feeling of flooding, of no longer recognizing your own country, its lifestyle and its culture, rejection appears."

He said such a feeling was not yet widespread, but it was growing and "some cities and regions" were already experiencing it.

Immigration hardliners Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau and Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin defended Bayrou, with Darmanin saying it was "progress" to recognize that "a certain proportion of foreigners on French soil cannot be exceeded".

Far-right claims ideological victory

The vice president of the far-right National Rally party, Sebastien Chenu, cited Bayrou's remarks as evidence that his movement had "won the ideological battle".

French far-right leader and member of parliament Marine Le Pen, President of the French far-right National Rally (RN) party parliamentary group, delivers a speech at the National Assembly in Paris, France, December 4, 2024. Reuters

But National Assembly speaker Yael Braun-Pivet, a fellow centrist, distanced herself from Bayrou.

"I would never have made such statements and I am embarrassed by them," she said. "France has always been welcoming."

Green parliamentary leader Cyrielle Chatelain said she was "extremely shocked" by Bayrou's "shameful" remarks, which she said reflected "a false idea promoted by the far right".

The boss of hard-left LFI's parliamentary group Mathilde Panot called the view on immigration held by Retailleau and his allies "racist".

According to France's national statistics agency INSEE, there were some 5.6 million foreigners living in France in 2023, representing 8.2 percent of the overall population, against 6.5 percent in 1975.