Under the title "Unprecedented French Decision on Visa Issuance for Citizens of Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia," Al-Hurra reported that Paris has decided to tighten visa issuance conditions for citizens of Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia in response to the "refusal" of these three countries to issue the necessary consular permits for the repatriation of migrants. This was announced by government spokesman Gabriel Attal.
Attal stated to Europe 1 radio on Tuesday that "this unprecedented decision has become necessary because these countries do not accept the return of nationals we do not want and cannot keep in France." He confirmed that the positions of the three countries "slow down the effectiveness" of deportation processes from French territory when decisions are made in this regard.
He added, "There was dialogue followed by threats. Today we are implementing the threat." Attal mentioned visits made by Prime Minister Jean Castex and members of his government to the three countries to discuss the issue, as well as meetings held with their ambassadors, saying, "When a file does not progress after a certain period, we must apply the laws."
When asked about the duration of the new measures, Attal noted that they were "decided a few weeks ago" and "will be implemented" to "pressure the concerned countries to change their policies and agree to issue these consular permits." He added, "We want the reaction to be in response to the additional cooperation with France so we can apply our existing immigration laws."
