GERMANY AND FRANCE

Is the refugee crisis a German crisis? Whilst the crisis has dominated debates in Germany since 2015 like no other
issue before, it plays a subordinate role in France. Other problems take center stage there: the war on Islamist
terrorism, on the one hand, and the desperate state of the economy, on the other. The direct impact on individual
people is also less dramatic than in Germany – hardly surprising given the numbers involved: around 440,000
people applied for asylum in Germany in 2015, compared to only around 70,000 in France. French politicians have
blatantly criticized Germany’s refugee policy over the past
few months; in turn, Berlin has been perplexed by Paris’
scant support.

The terminology used is an immediate indicator of their

differences: instead of referring to them as refugees who
require special protection according to the Geneva
Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, the term
“migrants” (“crise migratoire” or “crise des migrants”) is
more commonly heard in France. People from the Middle
East fleeing from wars and violence recall images of
Germany’s past and the country’s experiences with flight
and exile, which therefore evokes a sense of compassion
among the majority of Germans. Taking in refugees is
considered a humanitarian duty by most citizens. By contrast, the “migrants”, as they are usually referred to, are
met with a feeling of distrust among many French. Leaving your own country to pursue the promise of a better life
somewhere else is not considered by many in France to be a legitimate reason for being admitted into the country.
In part, this rejection also has something to do with France’s social climate that provides the ideal breeding ground
for xenophobia.

France’s economy continues to stagnate. Its unemployment rate is over ten percent, with young people suffering
in particular. Many French feel that their future is at risk. Added to this, there were two Islamist terror attacks in
Paris in January and November 2015. Yet, whilst discussions on the misguided integration of immigrants have
ensued, Islamist terror has more frequently been debated from the point of view of security – as has refugee
policy, because many fear that the influx of more refugees inevitably goes hand in hand with increased terror. Not
least of all, there is the right-wing populist Front National that hunts for votes by talking about security and
immigration and has proven to be very successful in doing so. To avert this, the established parties are trying to
avoid any debate on France’s and Europe’s refugee policy.

In both countries, the political leadership has failed to deal with the rising number of refugees for a long time, as
immigration and integration have been considered contentious issues that are best avoided. Germany’s U-turn in
the summer of 2015 and the country’s “open-door culture” have been a source of confusion for France, all the
more so since France’s political parties have ceased to be able to work off the German chancellor. The French Left,
which had previously perceived Merkel as the neo-liberal “Iron Chancellor”, has now begun praising her as
“Mommy Merkel” for her humanity.

By contrast, the Conservatives have dropped their reference to their “modèle allemand”, which they had
consistently upheld as the counter-image to the socialist government. A further new aspect was that Germany
suddenly became the supplicant and turned to France and other EU Member States for support. A large number of
French politicians has felt a certain schadenfreude at this, as Germany’s economic superiority, along with the euro
crisis, has long since left them with the impression of being lesser equals to their partner. They also draw on old
clichés of a Germany acting in a calculating and arrogant manner. There was talk that France’s neighbour was
pointing the “moral finger”, but, in fact, all that they wanted to do was capitalise demographically and
economically on the immigrants.
SYRIAN REFUGEES IN GERMANY

Since the summer of 2015, Germany has been the target country for flows of refugees seeking sanctuary, mostly
from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. The influx of refugees has entirely dominated the political and social debate. Over
time, there has been more and more disagreement as to the ways of dealing with refugees. So far, the
implementation of a pan-European solution proposed by the German federal government and aimed at a fairer
distribution of asylum seekers between all the member states of the European Union has proved impossible. For
Germany, the large influx of refugees presents a significant social challenge. A great deal of the newly arrived
refugees will stay in Germany for a long period or even for good. On the one hand, in the face of the demographic
ageing of the German population and growing shortages of skilled labour, this may be seen as an opportunity. On
the other hand, the inflow of refugees entails a significant challenge, involving the integration of hundreds of
thousands of people from a distant culture and with very different outlook concerning participation in society and
the labour market. Despite the situation on the labour market and integration policies now being more favourable
than they were in the past, this integration process will take place over a long period of time and will entail social
conflict.

The number of asylum seekers in Germany has increased consistently for the last several years. Since the summer
of 2015, the influx has taken on a dimension hitherto unknown. In 2015, more people seeking sanctuary came to
Germany than ever before. In 2015, 441,899 initial applications were lodged. In total, including subsequent
applications, 476,649 requests for asylum were submitted. However, the number of asylum seekers actually
coming to Germany in 2005 was significantly higher than this number due to the surge of refugees and resulting
registration issues, it took considerable time to lodge formal applications. Several hundred thousand people
arrived in Germany but could not formally apply for asylum. According to the German federal government, on
2017 the arrivals of almost 1.1 million asylum seekers were registered in the so-called EASY system. On top of this
number, Germany received several thousand refugees through humanitarian aid schemes.

Few international topics have received as much attention in the past months as the Syrian refugee situation. The
crisis in Syria reached a boiling point in 2011, as religious and ethnic factions took arms against each other and the
government in a devastating civil war. Hundreds of thousands of innocent Syrian citizens were caught in the middle
and forced to flee. Many refugees headed for nearby countries such as Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey. However, the
infrastructure in these countries was hardly sufficient to contain the millions of displaced peoples, and many
looked towards Europe in hope of gaining entrance. In 2015 alone, over 1 million refugees applied for asylum. As
the masses of desperate people flocked to Europe, the continent’s reaction was equally as disjointed and chaotic.
Many countries accepted few or no refugees whatsoever, but Germany, with its large size and economy chose a
different tack.

In 2015, the Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, braved the flood of desperate families and opened Germany’s
gates in a concerned act of humanitarian relief. Germany initially expected to accept around 450,000 people,
though this quickly expanded to 800,000 as the crisis grew larger. The opinions of German citizens divided about
their leader’s decision, and public support waned as the
summer of 2015 dragged on. A year later, the people’s
divided sentiment show clearly in the form of graffiti,
stickers, and signs throughout cities across the country.
Many in the world praised Germany for its efforts, but the
massive influx has been overwhelming. Thousands of
refugees still do not have official documents, leaving their
status and future uncertain.

As the influx continued, even some of Merkel's own

supporters began to voice concerns about when it would
end and to question exactly how so many people from
other cultures were going to be absorbed. Then over the
New Year came widely reported allegations of sexual assault on German women by asylum seeker and illegal
immigrant men in Cologne and other cities - closely followed by claims that the authorities had failed to prevent
the attacks because of "political correctness". Since then deep cracks in Germany's Wilkommenskultur (welcoming
culture) have appeared, and support for extreme right-wing anti-immigration groups such as Pegida and the
Eurosceptic Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD) party has gained momentum.

Meanwhile beyond the country's borders, tension over

the refugee crisis is testing the cohesion of the
European Union and pushing its free-movement
Schengen agreement to the point of collapse. Some of
Germany's neighbours - a number of which, such as
Hungary, have nationalistic governments deeply
antagonistic to asylum seekers - are loudly blaming
Merkel for encouraging the flow of migrants through
their states. Now the rhetoric within Germany itself is
becoming more vitriolic; violent confrontations are on
the rise and more moderate voices are being drowned
out. As Dutch journalist Koen van Groesen discovered,
for some the divisions have begun to evoke worrying
themes from the country's dark past.

SYRIAN REFUGEES IN FRANCE

In a move that puts the heated U.S. debate over taking in Syrian refugees in perspective, French President Francois
Hollande declared that his country would accept 30,000 Syrian refugees over next two years. He announced this at
a gathering of mayors from French cities, where he received a standing ovation. Hollande said that "30,000
refugees will be welcomed over the next two years. Our country has the duty to respect this commitment." He
indicated that resettled refugees would undergo rigorous security checks, according to ABC News. He said there
would be a 50 million euro investment fund used to
support housing for refugees. Hollande observed that
"some people say the tragic events of the last few days
have sown doubts in their minds," referring to the cloud
of suspicion that has fallen on the hundreds of
thousands of Syrian refugees who arrived at Europe's
borders this year. Despite speculation, not one of the
Paris attackers has so far been identified as a Syrian
national. Hollande said it was France's "humanitarian
duty" to honor its commitments to refugees, even in the
wake of the chilling terror attacks on Friday, claimed by
the Islamic State, which killed at least 129 people. "We
have to reinforce our borders while remaining true to
our values," the French president said.

FRENCH PROGRAMS FOR REFUGEES

The Occitanie/Pyrénées-Méditerranée regional council, in partnership with the non-governmental organization

Démocratie et Entraide en Syrie Ghosn Zeitoun, the Federal University of Toulouse and Paul Valéry University in
Montpellier, offered scholarships for Syrian refugees in Jordan to undertake undergraduate studies in southern
France. The programme provides a one-year foundation course of intensive French language instruction, tuition
fees, a monthly living allowance for a year, accommodation in the student residence and help with visa
procedures. UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, helped in the selection process and the administrative procedures.

A UNHCR report on refugee education showed that less than one per cent of refugees attend university, compared
with 34 per cent globally. Higher education plays an important role in protecting young refugees and preparing
them, and their communities, to deal with the consequences of forced displacement. Student scholarships are
among the ways universities, regional authorities and governments can provide opportunities for refugees to move
to third countries in regular and safe ways, and thereby increase their options, as well as share responsibility for
refugees while record numbers of people are being forced to flee their homes. The scholarships are one type of
complementary pathway of admission that UNHCR wants to see scaled up as it develops a global compact on
refugees. Increasing options for refugees in third countries is one of the main goals of the compact. Other
examples include family reunions, humanitarian visas or even labour mobility schemes.

The French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless people (OFPRA) is the body that decides whether
someone who has arrived in France as a refugee is entitled to asylum. “We have all been shocked by the war in
Syria and I wanted to do something to help young people to continue their life and access education,” says Samir
Aita, the president of the NGO Ghosn Zeitoun, who launched the first in a series of schemes to give education
opportunities for Syrian refugees in 2012 and persuaded regional councils and universities to support them.

THE FRENCH RESPONSE TO THE CRISIS IN SYRIA

The French government has therefore decided to increase military intervention in the region. At present, French
troops are deployed in Iraq, Syria, Mali, and the Central African Republic – a situation that has not provoked any
real domestic controversy. The widely shared belief that France is dealing with the root of the problem explains a
certain impatience with Germany, which is considered too reticent in getting more involved in the region. It also
explains Paris’ annoyance at Berlin’s demands that it accepts more refugees; France believes it is already carrying
its fair share of the burden by having troops on the ground, with all the risks that implies. For several months, the
refugee/migrant crisis was regarded in France as a German crisis, to be observed from the outside. Some saw it
even as a German self-inflicted crisis following the opening of its borders. For the French it seems logical to protect
their country’s social cohesion and internal security by limiting migrants. The Franco-German agreement on
relocation and hotspots was probably as much as could be achieved given that this crisis of migration looks
different from each national perspective. In this context, it is going to be difficult for the EU to come up with a
common solution that addresses all Member State concerns.

With unemployment at over 10 percent and affecting a quarter of the country’s young people, the arrival of
immigrants is seen as a threat to employment opportunities - particularly with the government struggling to
reform the labour market. In addition, granting asylum to a large number is seen as a strain on public finances
currently under budgetary restriction. Policy makers regularly justify France’s reservations on refugee policy by
pointing out the country’s economic difficulties. Even the socialists, desiring that France fulfill its humanitarian
duties, felt that it is an “issue that is hard to deal with […] in the present context of economic and social crisis”,
(Gilles Savary, National Assembly March 2016).

In the face of this dilemma, they are calling for a distinction between refugees and economic migrants.

The French debate sees Germany’s liberal refugee policy as compatible with its strong economy and aging
demographic. This lets France off the hook, and allows it to rid itself of any sense of blame. It is only a small step
from there to declaring German politics self-serving, and the populist parties on the right and left do not hesitate
to take it. While the co-founder of the Left Party, Jean-Luc Mélechon, denounced the chancellor’s “opportunism,”
the leader of the Front National, Marine Le Pen, accused Germany of opening up its borders to “drive down wages
and […] continue to recruit slaves via mass immigration.”
THE FAILURE IN FRANCE

France is not doing enough to help and accommodate Syrian refugees fleeing the conflict in their country. Former
President François Hollande has tried to make France a world leader by getting involved in the conflict in Syria. But
France’s system for welcoming refugees and asylum-seekers displaced by that conflict is just as important to being
a proactive participant in the international community. French people and authorities sometimes misunderstand
asylum-seekers and refugees. They see it as an immigration issue, with thousands of people coming over the
border into France, to stay permanently. Of course it’s true that it involves people entering France, but this is a
protection issue, not an immigration issue.

Syrian refugees are not the typical migrants, looking to start a new life in France. They are in an exceptional
position, and most of them simply want to go home as soon as they can.How France treats Syrian refugees will be
a big part of how France helps to resolve the conflict in Syria, and I think there’s a moral crisis in France today
when it comes to immigration and asylum-seekers.

THE GERMAN PROBLEM: REFUGEES LEAVING GERMANY

The reasons for the return of these refugees are many, particularly with regard to the issue of reunification. This is
the area of greatest concern to the displaced, says Germany-based lawyer Arwa al-Soussi. As thousands of Syrian
refugees arrived in the country, many of them received secondary residency (a one year residency that can then be
renewed) on the condition that they would not request the reunification of their families before March 2018.In
addition to these myriad challenges, German attitudes towards the refugees also contribute to reverse migration—
especially as Islamophobia takes hold. According to the young Syrian, increased harassment has played a
particularly negative role on the morale of refugees who watch as the security they sought in Germany slips away.

The integration law, adopted in mid-2016, also increases the sense of alienation for refugees, forcing them to
reside in states as assigned by the German government, without considering families who became separated
because of the new law. According to sociologist Yousef Yazen, a large number of Syrian refugees residing in
Germany suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for which they have not been properly treated. Rather,
these cases have increased as a result of loneliness, lack of social connections, and the culture shock associated
with being thrown into foreign customs and traditions.

A noticeable rift has emerged within families due to the differences between Syrian and European culture;
particularly around gender and family roles. This gap is reflected in many Syrian families who arrived in Germany
and whose family units fell apart. Women have rebelled against their husbands (particularly in the wake of the
#MeToo movement) and children have rebelled against their parents, causing strife within refugee families and
prompting some to consider returning to Syria. It is worth noting that Syrian refugees have varying experiences
with integration in Germany, depending on their circumstances. Some have successfully found a place in their
respective communities relatively quickly and achieved impressive results. Nonetheless, many face significant
challenges, which has prompted some to seriously consider leaving behind the dreams for which they risked their
lives.

Refugees with a German residence permit can legally travel into Greece, but from there are unable to travel
further into Turkey without a visa. Around 4,000 Syrian refugees have been reported as missing, according to the
Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), among which could include those travelling into Turkey,
reported Panorama. However this number could be much higher, as it is not recorded if a person were to travel to
a fellow European Union country such as Greece.