Macron’s New Government Justifies the Arbitrary Deportation of Algerians!
The new French government has gone to great lengths to justify the arbitrary treatment of Algerians subject to deportation orders from French territory.
Its official response was lukewarm and devoid of any acknowledgment of wrongdoing or commitment to reviewing the deportation operations, which have become a tool of political pressure.
This government position was expressed by the Minister in charge of Industry, Sébastien Martin, on behalf of the Interior Minister, in a public session on October 16, 2025, the content of which was published on 10/31/2025, in response to a question from Senator of Algerian origin, Akli Mellouli, from the Val-de-Marne constituency, through which he sought to draw the attention of the French Interior Minister to the serious deviation represented today by the policy of generalization in the use of decisions to remove people from French territory, as OQTF (Order to Leave the French Territory).
In his response, the French official confirmed to the Senate that the residence of foreigners in France is subject to specific reasons and strict rules, and that the granting or renewal of residence permits is done in accordance with European law and after an individual study of each case separately, stressing that the government “expects to apply legal procedures” against all those who do not meet the conditions of legal residence, based on the European directive dated December 16, 2008, which obliges EU countries to take deportation decisions against every foreigner in an illegal situation.
In justifying the rise in deportation decisions known as (OQTF), the French minister indicated that this increase is due to what he called “the increased pressure of the migration phenomenon” on French territory and the improvement of mechanisms for monitoring irregular migrants, highlighting that the number of people arrested in the streets rose from 123,800 in 2023 to more than 147,000 in 2024.
He also asserted that the stricter enforcement of the new law issued on January 26, 2024, concerning immigration control and integration, had led to an increase in deportation orders, emphasizing that “residence police is being carried out rigorously by prefects.”
Despite criticisms leveled at the automated deportation process and accusations that authorities were violating principles of human rights, Minister Martin maintained a defensive stance, linking the rise in deportations to “improved administrative performance.” He explained that some cases are repeated because migrants use multiple identities to obstruct identification.
Lecornu government’s official concluded his response by emphasizing that what matters most is not the number of decisions issued, but the number actually implemented. He explained that deportations had increased by 27% in 2024 and by 14.7% by the end of August 2025, indicating that the government considers this increase an indicator of the effectiveness of its policy, not of its excesses.
In his written question, submitted on July 3, 2025, Senator Akli Mellouli, of Algerian origin, stated that this measure has become a “ready-made response” used by French authorities almost automatically to address any complex migrant situation or case deemed irregular. This, he argued, threatens the republican balance and makes general deterrence a substitute for individual case-by-case analysis.
He explained that this trend reflects what he called “OQTF logic,” a deviation that replaces the rule of law with symbols and human dignity with suspicion and doubt. He cited the case of a 58-year-old French woman of Algerian origin who has lived in France since 1993, obtained citizenship in 1997, and works in a nursery in Paris. She was detained at Roissy Airport upon her return from Algeria and subsequently informed of a deportation order accompanied by a one-year entry ban, on the grounds that the authorities doubted her primary residence in France.
The senator emphasized that such a decision reveals the absurdity of a purely security-based approach to immigration. It is no longer a matter of exceptional cases but a growing phenomenon reflecting a tendency toward “administrative automation” instead of individual justice, leading to a vicious cycle of suspicion, expulsion, extremism, and injustice.
Mellouli concluded his question by calling on the government to restrict the justifications for issuing deportation orders, so that they are not applied to citizens or residents who are fully integrated into French society, while also demanding that a public and regular evaluation of these orders be launched to measure their real effectiveness and the extent to which they are compatible with French republican values.
