Does this not seem a similar political and economic description to that of the UK, with Reform making political headway on immigration concerns and Chancellor Reeves looking at spending cuts to balance the books !https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/france-wants-to-know-the-true-cost-of-immigration/"France wants to know the true cost of immigration"25 June 2025, 11:44am'The right-wing UDR group in the French parliament, led by Eric Ciotti, has called for a parliamentary commission to calculate the true cost of immigration. Ciotti is demanding a line-by-line accounting of France’s spending on healthcare, housing, education, and emergency aid for migrants, alongside their economic contributions. The French left recoiled instantly and predictably. To move the debate on, the Socialists tabled a no-confidence motion against the Bayrou government, ostensibly over pension reform, but widely seen as a bid to deflect Ciotti’s challenge. In Paris, few are fooled: immigration is the real flashpoint.When it comes to immigration, the numbers are framed as dangerous, not because they’re made up, but because they might be trueJean-Luc Mélenchon, the far-left firebrand and founder of LFI, thundered that Bayrou must resist ‘the creeping Trumpism of public life.’ Mélenchon is deliberately missing the point. All the right is asking for at this point is a procedural commission. It would be sober and long overdue. But for the French left, the idea that immigration might be scrutinised like any other line of public spending is intolerable. Much easier to cry racism, scream Trump, and table a motion of no confidence to distract and shut the whole thing down. When something looks threatening, change the subject.Ciotti’s proposal may be politically explosive, but it is also needed. France’s public finances are in crisis. The deficit stands at €154 billion, and the Bayrou government is scrambling to find €20 billion in immediate cuts just to satisfy Brussels. Voters are being told they must expect austerity. The question of what immigration costs, and what it brings in, is now being posed more forcefully than ever. France’s annual bill for state-funded healthcare for migrants is now over €1.2 billion. Emergency accommodation for asylum seekers and illegal migrants costs around €1 billion a year. Add to that the costs of education, unemployment, integration schemes, housing aid, child support, and criminal justice. The numbers aren’t exactly hidden, but they’re never being added up in one place. And that, of course, is the point.
John Hawkes ● 28d