“In France, it had disappeared from the political vocabulary for 4 decades. The immigrant worker has returned, thanks to the debates on the shortage of labour.”
No false naivety. This immigrant worker had not really disappeared. It’s just that for 40 years, France no longer wondered too much “who works in restaurants, handles the jackhammer, is active at the top of the scaffolding, or empties the garbage cans and delivers the packages.”
As a contrast, the silence observed so far on this category of worker highlights the hypocrisy of a certain employers, and writes Le Monde, the pusillanimity of political leaders.
What does the new French bill that brings the immigrant worker back to the forefront of the debates really want? Control immigration, promote integration or facilitate the expulsion of foreigners in an illegal situation, while temporarily retaining immigrant workers from sectors in tension?
This question deserves better than the role play in which the French political class indulges. It is a broad debate that must be opened, by exposing to everyone the place of France (let us add “of Belgium”) in the world population flows, the state of our relations with the countries of departure, the needs of the economy, the training potential.
And since the question occupies us this Friday, let’s also add to it, to stop constantly going back, the question of the respect due to human beings, regardless of their place of birth.
