France: “Racist Measures Against Algerians For Depriving Them Of Social Benefits”

The French Government has decided to take measures that have been described as racist against Algerians and Arab Maghreb nationals who are beneficiaries of social assistance, targeting groups that still maintain their movements to their motherland, as required by the laws and agreements concluded between the two countries since the early beginnings of independence, in addition to the 1968 agreements.
The Minister of Public Accounts, Gabriel Atal, in the government of Elizabeth Borne, spoke of a tightening up of the monitoring of financial transfers to Algeria and other Maghreb countries and Portugal, especially those intended for beneficiaries of social and tax aid who spend long periods in their countries compared to their stay on French soil.
These procedures go as far as monitoring the beneficiaries’ accounts and tracking their movements through the movement of aircraft (back and forth).
These measures were strongly defended by the French Minister for the Economy, Bruno Lemaire, in an interview with the French television channel BFMTV, who considered them legal as long as “the issue concerns aid to French citizens who have contributed to supporting the treasury with their contributions”, as he put it.
According to the French Economy Minister, “the French social system is designed to protect the social groups that have contributed to the funds, not to illegally transfer money abroad”, and he followed suit: “Our citizens are tired of fraud. They are tired of seeing people who receive the aid they pay them take it out of their pockets and send it to the Maghreb or elsewhere”.
These measures did not pass without causing a great storm in the French political scene, as most parties, especially those with a leftist orientation, opposed them, led by the Socialist Party, whose president, Olivier Faure, did not hesitate to accuse Macron’s government of sliding rapidly to the right, saying: “The far right. It is seriously filling the government vacuum”.
In a tweet on Twitter, Olivier Faure expressed his regret that the government “makes racist statements to avert talking about how social fraud is mainly the work of employers and that tax evasion cannot be measured”, and the leader of the Socialist Group in the European Parliament, Boris Valo, followed suit. who declared: “Day 1 of 100 days of appeasement: Xenophobic prejudices”.
Prominent left-wing leader Jean-Luc Melenchon did not fail to attack the government, accusing it of discriminating against Muslims. He wrote in a tweet: “Dear Muslim citizens or those from the Maghreb like me, prepare yourselves. The government, with the voice of Bruno Lemaire, is announcing a new campaign against you, giving you the finger”.
As for the leader of the “France the Fatherland” parliamentary group, Mathilde Bannot, a deputy, she wrote in a tweet on Twitter: “You will not quench social anger by sowing the poison of division. We now know that your moral decay will be added to the political vacuum. On the first of May, the challengers in the streets will answer you,” referring to the escalation of street protests against the Borne government and President Emmanuel Macron in the coming days and weeks.