France’s contact point for the European Migration Network (EMN), the Direction Générale des Étrangers en France (DGEF), has informed the Global Detention Project that it is not able to answer our Covid-19 survey questions. The GDP had initially written to the DGEF/EMN on 13 May 2020, requesting information on immigration detention and measures taken by states in view of the Covid-19 pandemic. Having not received a response, the GDP sent a reminder on 14 July. Two days later, the French EMN contact responded stating that the “EMN does not have competence to respond to [the GDP’s] questions” and suggested that we contact the “Sous-direction de la lutte contre l’immigration irrégulière,” also part of the Interior Ministry.
Interestingly, many other EMN country contact points have provided detailed responses to the GDP’s survey, including in Austria, Bulgaria, Latvia, Spain, and Sweden. When we pointed this out to the DGEF, they explained that each EMN contact is organised differently and may be part of distinct institutions (universities, international organisations, ministries, or other institutions) and that operating protocols may thus vary from country to country.
- EMN France (Direction Générale des Étrangers en France), Global Detention Project’s Covid-19 survey, 16 July 2020.
- Global Detention Project, Immigration Detention in France, October 2018, https://www.globaldetentionproject.org/countries/europe/france
- European Migration Network Logo, (EMN, “EMN,” accessed on 20 July 2020, https://ec.europa.eu/immigration/general-information/emn_en)
