Bruno Retailleau, Conservative candidate for the French presidential election, calls to “ostracise Spain from European nations” over its immigration policy
Bruno Retailleau, Conservative candidate for the French presidential election, calls to “ostracise Spain from European nations” over its immigration policy
1. Immigration is behind Spain’s impressive growth since Covid. Retailleau thinks that Spain has become an open door for Hispanic immigrants that may for some reason want to reach France despite it’s worse job market and language barriers.
2. We should discuss immigration policy and how the European Right feels open to targeting left-wing governments and interfering in internal matters due to their anti-immigration brainrot
3. I think it’s ironic because he doesn’t complain about Meloni despite the fact that Sanchez’ policy (giving 1 year work permits) is more or less similar to what Meloni did
!ping FRANCE
ldn6 on
It’s so annoying because Spain should be criticised for not taking advantage of its economic growth to boost its dismal defence contribution, not because it has largely culturally similar immigrants.
fredleung412612 on
Don’t see how we should care about the opinions of a fringe party…
In all seriousness this position would I think make it difficult for Retailleau to unite the broad “Centre” bloc, so the Republicans seem destined to occupy the vacuum between the Macronists and the far-right. Problem is vacuum is the right word to use, since there are no votes there to pick up.
WAGRAMWAGRAM on
Les Républicains’ (Conservatives) candidate for the 2027 presidential election, Bruno Retailleau, wants to “ostracise” Spain, led by Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, from the European community, following the latter’s announcement of a mass regularisation of nearly half a million undocumented migrants to support the country’s economy.
“**We cannot tolerate the mass regularization that Mr Sánchez is carrying out**,” said the LR leader on Monday 20 April on LCI, **expressing fears that migrants who obtain papers in Spain might then cross the border into France.**
Considering the Spanish centre-left government’s decision to be “**contrary to the European spirit**”, he promised to “**reinstate border controls**” if elected in 2027, asserting that France was entitled to adopt such measures in the event of a “crisis”. “I will ostracise [Spain] from the European nations,” added the former interior minister. To impose such a measure, the LR leader is counting on European countries, which are “mostly” led by the right. “Fortunately, Europe has changed today,” he remarked.
Contrary to the tightening of migration policies seen across much of Europe, Spain launched a wide-ranging plan a week ago to regularise undocumented migrants, based on economic and moral arguments, which is expected to benefit around **500,000 undocumented workers, mainly from Latin America.**
“**This is why the West needs migrants**,” argued the Spanish Prime Minister in an opinion piece in The New York Times published in February. In the article, **he describes undocumented workers as “essential to everyone’s daily life**”. “Some leaders have chosen to hunt them down and deport them through illegal and cruel operations,” he says. His government, however, has “opted for a different path”, for reasons of “moral order”, but also “pragmatic” ones: “The West needs people.” ” Faced with “leaders close to the MAGA movement”, who deem the measure “suicidal”, Pedro Sánchez issues a warning: **“Do not be fooled. Spain is booming.”**
The country had 840,000 undocumented migrants at the start of 2025, compared with just 107,000 in 2017, according to Funcas, a think tank that bases its figures on the registration of foreign nationals with local authorities. **This rise is mainly due to the influx of Latin American nationals, fleeing political and socio-economic crises, who are exempt from visa requirements.**
A study co-authored by the economist Joan Monras, a professor at Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, on Spain’s 2005 regularisation process – which affected nearly 580,000 foreign nationals **– shows an average contribution of €4,000 per regularised person per year, thanks to increased tax revenue, without any ‘pull factor’ for migration having been reported.**
These are arguments repeated by supporters of the draft royal decree: the measure will benefit people already present in the country but left behind the legal economy. The situation of these people, they argue, represents a loss to the public finances of one of Europe’s most dynamic nations. **According to a study by Funcas, immigration has accounted for nearly half of the rise in Spain’s GDP since 2022, whilst shielding the country from demographic decline.**
4 Comments
1. Immigration is behind Spain’s impressive growth since Covid. Retailleau thinks that Spain has become an open door for Hispanic immigrants that may for some reason want to reach France despite it’s worse job market and language barriers.
2. We should discuss immigration policy and how the European Right feels open to targeting left-wing governments and interfering in internal matters due to their anti-immigration brainrot
3. I think it’s ironic because he doesn’t complain about Meloni despite the fact that Sanchez’ policy (giving 1 year work permits) is more or less similar to what Meloni did
!ping FRANCE
It’s so annoying because Spain should be criticised for not taking advantage of its economic growth to boost its dismal defence contribution, not because it has largely culturally similar immigrants.
Don’t see how we should care about the opinions of a fringe party…
In all seriousness this position would I think make it difficult for Retailleau to unite the broad “Centre” bloc, so the Republicans seem destined to occupy the vacuum between the Macronists and the far-right. Problem is vacuum is the right word to use, since there are no votes there to pick up.
Les Républicains’ (Conservatives) candidate for the 2027 presidential election, Bruno Retailleau, wants to “ostracise” Spain, led by Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, from the European community, following the latter’s announcement of a mass regularisation of nearly half a million undocumented migrants to support the country’s economy.
“**We cannot tolerate the mass regularization that Mr Sánchez is carrying out**,” said the LR leader on Monday 20 April on LCI, **expressing fears that migrants who obtain papers in Spain might then cross the border into France.**
Considering the Spanish centre-left government’s decision to be “**contrary to the European spirit**”, he promised to “**reinstate border controls**” if elected in 2027, asserting that France was entitled to adopt such measures in the event of a “crisis”. “I will ostracise [Spain] from the European nations,” added the former interior minister. To impose such a measure, the LR leader is counting on European countries, which are “mostly” led by the right. “Fortunately, Europe has changed today,” he remarked.
Contrary to the tightening of migration policies seen across much of Europe, Spain launched a wide-ranging plan a week ago to regularise undocumented migrants, based on economic and moral arguments, which is expected to benefit around **500,000 undocumented workers, mainly from Latin America.**
“**This is why the West needs migrants**,” argued the Spanish Prime Minister in an opinion piece in The New York Times published in February. In the article, **he describes undocumented workers as “essential to everyone’s daily life**”. “Some leaders have chosen to hunt them down and deport them through illegal and cruel operations,” he says. His government, however, has “opted for a different path”, for reasons of “moral order”, but also “pragmatic” ones: “The West needs people.” ” Faced with “leaders close to the MAGA movement”, who deem the measure “suicidal”, Pedro Sánchez issues a warning: **“Do not be fooled. Spain is booming.”**
The country had 840,000 undocumented migrants at the start of 2025, compared with just 107,000 in 2017, according to Funcas, a think tank that bases its figures on the registration of foreign nationals with local authorities. **This rise is mainly due to the influx of Latin American nationals, fleeing political and socio-economic crises, who are exempt from visa requirements.**
A study co-authored by the economist Joan Monras, a professor at Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, on Spain’s 2005 regularisation process – which affected nearly 580,000 foreign nationals **– shows an average contribution of €4,000 per regularised person per year, thanks to increased tax revenue, without any ‘pull factor’ for migration having been reported.**
These are arguments repeated by supporters of the draft royal decree: the measure will benefit people already present in the country but left behind the legal economy. The situation of these people, they argue, represents a loss to the public finances of one of Europe’s most dynamic nations. **According to a study by Funcas, immigration has accounted for nearly half of the rise in Spain’s GDP since 2022, whilst shielding the country from demographic decline.**