The French-Italian border at Menton has once again become the main entry point for illegal immigration into metropolitan France. Local authorities have recorded around 10,400 interceptions since the beginning of the year, with 200-300 people sent back each week. Although the figures do not reach the crisis levels at the end of 2023, attempted crossings have increased by 30% in recent weeks. The summer season could push interceptions to around 15,000 by the end of the year, a number similar to 2024.
The state’s response includes strengthening the gendarmerie, border police, customs, and soldiers from Operation Sentinelle.
Migrants often use express trains from Ventimiglia or steep routes monitored by drones and police patrols. Among those detained, citizens of Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco stand out, with 10% being unaccompanied minors. Although radicalized profiles are a minority, their presence highlights additional security risks that the authorities cannot ignore.
Since 1968, the immigrant population in France has risen from 6.5% to 10.2% of the national total, now totaling more than 6.7 million people. Territorial concentration has also changed: Île-de-France today hosts 37% of all immigrants compared to 29% in 1968, and departments such as Seine-Saint-Denis reach 31.2% of the immigrant population. The predominant nationalities have also shifted: the number of Southern European immigrants has decreased, while more Moroccan, Algerian Tunisian, and Sub-Saharan migrants have arrived, consolidating a growing ‘diversity’ that poses integration challenges.
This population increase has a direct effect on housing. Nearly one in four immigrants lives in overcrowded conditions, compared with 5.1% of those born in France. Densely populated urban areas such as Paris, Alpes-Maritimes, or Bouches-du-Rhône show rates exceeding 30%. The combination of large households, small dwellings, and urban concentration increases pressure on the housing stock, making access to decent accommodation more difficult and generating tensions with the local population.
The impact is not limited to housing. Essential public services such as education, health care, recreation, and transport are under increasing pressure in municipalities with high immigrant density. Schools with overcrowded classrooms, hospitals with longer waiting lists, and congested public transport are direct consequences of mass immigration, as urban and social planning do not always keep pace with migration flows, leaving local governments with insufficient resources to serve both the newcomers and the native population.
The combination of overcrowding, pressure on public services, and urban concentration highlights that mass immigration, far from being only a demographic phenomenon, has become a structural challenge for coexistence and the management of urban space. Without clear policies guaranteeing integration and access to housing and services, social tensions are set to intensify, generating conflicts that the state must urgently address.
