While the concern for the reception of Ukrainians fleeing the Russian invasion is growing in the European Union, the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, declared on Tuesday 1is March, that at this stage “less than a hundred” of them arrived in France. The Minister of the Interior spoke at the end of a meeting by videoconference with the prefects of the whole country. He also said he gave the instruction to extend “ninety days at least” the residence permit of all Ukrainians in France whose document would soon expire.
“I’m going back to Brussels on Thursday for a council of interior ministers [de l’Union européenne]added the Minister. We will ask the European Commission to unblock what is called “temporary protection”that is to say a title that looks like a form of temporary asylum on European territory, for six months renewable [pendant] three years, which allows us to welcome Ukrainians to Europe in the best possible way. »
Emmanuel Macron had said, on the very evening of the first day of the Russian offensive in Ukraine, that “France, like all other European countries, will take its share”, not only for “to assist the Ukrainian population” but also for ” to welcome “ refugees from that country. He was followed on this line by most of the candidates for the Elysée, with the exception of Eric Zemmour who intends to leave the responsibility for refugees to Poland alone.
Already more than 660,000 exiled
Five ministers, including Mr. Darmanin, wrote to elected officials on Tuesday to invite those who wish to welcome Ukrainian refugees to “to make known” to the prefects the “possible solutions and initiatives” in their municipalities. “Our ministries are already fully mobilized to prepare for their arrival and meet their care needs (accommodation and housing, support for families, renewal of residence permits, etc.)”they assure.
Several mayors of large cities have already launched calls to mobilize the population. On Sunday, the socialist mayor of Lille, Martine Aubry, launched an appeal for Lille volunteers, indicating that the municipality had identified 230 places available. Anne Hidalgo, the socialist candidate for the Elysée and mayor of Paris, announced for her part that she had set up “A crisis cell in order to make every effort to ensure the accommodation of Ukrainians stranded in Paris or who would come to take refuge there”. The environmental mayor of Lyon, Grégory Doucet, also said to prepare “to welcome refugees from Ukraine or neighboring countries”.
More than 660,000 people fleeing the Russian invasion of Ukraine have already flocked to neighboring countries, and their numbers are increasing “exponential”the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced on Tuesday.
