Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez’s decision to regularise the status of up to 500,000 illegal migrants has sent political shockwaves far beyond Spain’s borders. In France, it has provoked particularly strong reactions from the Right, where politicians are condemning a measure they believe will have serious consequences across Europe.
For the French Right, Sánchez’s unilateral decision to regularise migrants on a massive scale dangerously overlooks the continental repercussions of such an influx. The Spanish plan, presented by Madrid as the standard response to demographic ageing and economic needs, is perceived in France as a break with the more restrictive policies adopted in many European countries.
Taken at the national level in Spain, this decision amounts to nothing short of a “betrayal” or a “catastrophe” for Europe, European Parliament member François-Xavier Bellamy (Les Républicains-EPP) said. Migration policy cannot be conducted in isolation within the Schengen area, which effectively creates a binding solidarity among the member states of the agreement: in an area of free movement, any national decision on migration will automatically have an impact on neighbouring countries.
The regularisation sought by Sánchez fuels the risk of a migration ‘pull factor,’ something that has been strongly denounced by various French political groups, led by the Rassemblement National (RN), for several years. RN MP Laure Lavalette has thus called for “Sánchez’s Spain to be immediately removed from the Schengen area.”
Éric Ciotti, president of the Union of the Right for the Republic (UDR, allied with the RN), directly addressed President Macron and called on him to “re-establish the borders” with Spain. He describes the Spanish measure as “European treason” and emphasises its consequences for the entire continent. The possibility of at least temporarily calling into question the functioning of the Schengen Area when national policies are deemed too permissive is a long-standing demand of the French Right.
The mass regularisation announced by Madrid risks encouraging further illegal arrivals in Europe, increasing migratory pressure at the Union’s external borders. Once migrants have entered the Schengen area, this will inevitably lead to an intensification of secondary movements within the European Union. These migrants will, in theory, be able to move freely throughout all Schengen countries and settle in other countries, including France. However, Spain has no plans to carry out any serious background checks, Bellamy said, which poses a risk to the security of all European countries.
The leader of the Identité-Libertés party, Marion Maréchal, has taken a strong stand against Sánchez on social media and is also calling for the closure of the borders between France and Spain. She is alarmed by a decision that holds all Europeans hostage and will trigger an influx of migrants towards “an Eldorado that does not exist,” a Europe that offers nothing but crime, drugs, or even death to those attempting to undertake the journey of all their hopes.
Maréchal has long emphasised the collective nature of the migration risk and the need for a coordinated, restrictive response at the European level.
The criticism, which comes from various representatives of the French Right who have not coordinated their efforts, ultimately leads to a call for an immediate and concrete tightening of French migration policy: the re-establishment of borders, the suspension or revision of the Schengen agreements, the strengthening of border controls, and the restriction of regularisations in France.
The Spanish episode comes against a backdrop of political tension in France, already marked by intense debates on immigration. Sánchez’s decision thus acts as a catalyst, providing the Right with a further argument to advocate for a tougher stance. It also allows for indirect criticism of the French government, which is accused of failing to sufficiently anticipate the consequences of the migration policies pursued by its neighbours.
