The Council of State partially annulled, last Friday, the circular from the Minister of Justice, Christiane Taubira, regarding the distribution among the departments for the care of isolated foreign minors, considering that the criteria adopted should be set by law.
This circular was challenged by ten departments, including the Alpes-Maritimes, which believed they did not have the capacity to accommodate other isolated foreign minors beyond those already being cared for in their territory. The number of isolated foreign minors (IFM)* is difficult to assess, but is estimated to be around 6,000 across French territory.
The Taubira circular of May 31, 2013, aimed to lighten the heavy burden on a few departments, such as Seine-Saint-Denis, Paris, and Pas-de-Calais where most cases are concentrated, by distributing the number of isolated foreign minors across all departments.
The General Council of Alpes-Maritimes thereby accommodates more than 1,300 children, either in collective structures or with approved families.
Following this decision, which refers the issue to a law rather than a simple circular, Eric Ciotti, always quick to criticize the Government, seized the opportunity by talking about censorship, which frankly was not the case. But in politics, what seems true is not always so, and vice versa.
“Recently, the influx of isolated foreign minors has destabilized our departmental child protection structures. Thus, while in 2011 the Alpes-Maritimes department had accommodated 138 IFM, 298 were accommodated in 2012, 179 in 2013, and another 174 in 2014,” he specified during a press briefing.
Targeting Minister Taubira, for whom he has no esteem or sympathy, Eric Ciotti directly addressed Prime Minister Manuel Valls to whom he put forward four demands: “First, quickly organize a parliamentary debate on the reception and care of IFM because this issue is of national interest; second, strengthen the fight against illegal immigration by also focusing on organized networks that exploit these minors, then implement state-provided care for IFM in adapted structures within the juvenile judicial protection, because this issue pertains to immigration policy and not child protection, and finally, pending the resolution of the preceding question, I request the State organize compensation for the cost of accommodating IFM by the departments.”
For the President of the General Council: “The reception of isolated foreign minors is a matter of national solidarity. Currently, the Child Welfare Center accommodates more than 200 minors, while its capacity is for 180 places.”
But ultimately we reach the heart of the problem after so many convolutions: “This is a burden for the Department’s finances, which is carried out on behalf of the State and must be reimbursed annually. It represents more than 6 million euros in 2014,” specifies the President of the General Council 06.
CQFD! The rest are just words…
