ABSTRACT
France is an old immigration country, the oldest one in Europe since the mid-19th century. Due to the globalization of migration, new nationalities and groups have appeared, from countries which had few previous links with France. But France has an immigration policy which hardly corresponds to this situation. Border control has progressively acquired a central place in migration policy, due to the pressure of extreme rightist parties and the dominance of public opinion. The pressure of EU rules is another factor that has led to a criminalization of irregular migration and a focus on external borders crossings. The most important challenge for decision-making related to migration in France is the deficit of dialogue between the government and the administration, and the experts and researchers who massively condemn the policies adopted. All the energies dealing with new migration policies are focused on border control and irregulars, while other issues such as the reform of asylum receive little attention.
