France Extends Internal Border Controls Until April 2025 Amid Security and Migration Concerns

France has announced its decision to maintain internal border controls until April 30, 2025, citing continued terrorist threats and concerns over irregular migration. The French authorities have officially informed the European Commission that the controls with its six Schengen neighbors—Belgium, Spain, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Germany, and Italy—will not be lifted on October 31, 2024, as initially planned, according to reports.

Following the expiration of the current measure, the French government plans to reintroduce a new border control system, effective from November 1, 2024. In their notification to the European Commission, France justified the extension of border controls, emphasizing that the country faces "serious threats to public policy, public order, and internal security posed by high-level terrorist activities, the growing presence of criminal networks facilitating irregular migration and smuggling, and migration flows that risk infiltration by radicalized individuals."

Additionally, French authorities pointed to irregular border crossings along the Channel and North Sea as further justification for the extension. They also highlighted escalating violence among migrants in northern coastal areas, particularly in Dunkirk and Calais, where clashes between migrants and law enforcement have created increasingly dangerous situations.

France initially introduced its most recent border controls on May 1, 2024, due to concerns related to the Olympic and Paralympic Games held during the summer. However, this was not the first time France had implemented such measures. Border controls have been in place almost continuously since 2015, following the terrorist attacks in Paris on November 15 of that year. In response to those attacks, France informed the European Commission on December 14, 2015, of its intention to reintroduce border controls, which were initially set to last until May 26, 2016. Since then, French authorities have extended the controls nearly 20 times for various reasons.

Under the Schengen Borders Code (SBC), EU member states are permitted to introduce temporary border controls, but only as a last-resort measure and in exceptional situations. While the SBC allows for the extension of such measures, they are not supposed to exceed six months.

Last week, newly appointed French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau reiterated the government's commitment to stricter border measures. Retailleau stated, "The French people want more order in the streets, order at the borders," and pledged to impose tougher controls to curb irregular migration. He also expressed concerns that France could face increasing pressure from migratory flows.

Data from the European Border and Coast Guard Agency (Frontex) indicates that 166,000 irregular border crossing attempts were detected at the EU's external borders from January to September 2024. Although this figure represents a 42% decrease compared to the same period in 2023, ongoing concerns over irregular migration have led several other Schengen Zone countries to implement or extend their own border controls. Austria, Germany, Norway, and Denmark are among the latest countries to notify the European Commission of their decisions to reintroduce or maintain border checks.

By fLEXI tEAM