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Prime Minister François Bayrou sparked outrage from the opposition, and indignation from his allies, when he referred to a feeling taking root in France of being “flooded” by immigration. The prime minister was accused of citing the "Great Replacement" conspiracy theory that has fuelled the far right for decades.
Interviewed by LCI television news late on Monday, French Prime Minister François Bayrou said immigration rates in France are creating a sense of being “flooded”, using a term long promoted by the far right to stoke fear.
"Foreign contributions are a positive for a people, so long as they remain proportionate," said Bayrou. "But as soon as you get the feeling of being flooded, of no longer recognising your own country, its lifestyle and its culture, there is a rejection," he said, adding that "we are approaching" this threshold.
“Some cities and regions” are already experiencing it, he said.
The remarks were clearly an effort by the prime minister to pander to the anti-immigration far-right National Rally (RN) party, which holds the prime minister’s political destiny in its hands. Bayrou needs broad support – from the far right as well as the centre-left Socialist Party – if he is to avoid the fate of his predecessor Michel Barnier, who was forced to step down in December.
The flare-up couldn’t have come at a worse time. Bayrou is to present a long-overdue 2025 budget bill in February, and he is hoping to avoid the same type of no-confidence vote that forced out Barnier over a budget impasse.
The prime minister’s remarks provoked an immediate reaction from the left, with Socialist deputy Arthur Delaporte saying they were rooted in “xenophobia”.
But his ideas gained new strength with Jean-Marie Le Pen, who in 1972 founded the far-right National Front party. The party rebranded in 2018 to became the National Rally and is now led by his daughter Marine Le Pen.
These beliefs eventually grew into "Great Replacement" theory, a term coined by author Renaud Camus in his eponymous 2011 book. Camus warned that the mass arrival of immigrants from Africa would lead to the replacement of White and Christian populations, eventually rendering them a minority. He claimed that Europeans and Westerners would then have a culture that is not their own imposed upon them.
Yet the reality contradicts the fears of a "flood", showing the percentage of migrants has risen only about 3 percent over the past half-century. There were 7.3 million immigrants in 2023 out of a total of 68.1 million inhabitants, accounting for 10.7 percent of the French population, according to INSEE, France's national statistics agency. In comparison, immigrants represented 7.4 percent of the population 50 years ago.
The left was quick to slam Bayrou for spreading far-right ideas. Far-left France Unbowed party leader Manuel Bompard said the remarks were “extremely shocking” underscoring that they “didn’t correspond at all with the reality” of immigration statistics.
Green party parliamentary leader Cyrielle Chatelain told franceinfo radio on Tuesday that she was also "extremely shocked" by Bayrou's "shameful" remarks.
“We are not experiencing migrant flooding. It’s the role of the prime minister to remind us of this rather than sharing false ideas.”
Bayrou’s comments also drew rebukes from his own allies. “I would never have made such statements and I am embarrassed by them," National Assembly speaker Yael Braun-Pivet said on BFMTV on Tuesday.
"Obviously we need to regulate immigration. Obviously we need to be very firm on our values, on the conditions and our requirements for integration (...)” said Braun-Pivet.
“But I don't use these words and I will never use them because I believe that it is contrary to what we are, deep down," she said.
Others appreciated the prime minister’s stance. Hardline Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said in an interview on far right TV network CNews that he thought the Bayrou was "courageous" in his remarks, even suggesting it was a "step forward".
Elected representatives from the National Rally party were the most pleased by Bayrou’s remarks.
"I think we won the ideological battle a long time ago. (…) The French and, later, the government have understood there is a problem with immigration for a long time," said Sébastien Chenu, deputy chief of the party, on the France Inter radio station.
Chenu went even farther, saying Bayrou should be ready to take action to back up his statements.
Interviewed by LCI television news late on Monday, French Prime Minister François Bayrou said immigration rates in France are creating a sense of being “flooded”, using a term long promoted by the far right to stoke fear.
"Foreign contributions are a positive for a people, so long as they remain proportionate," said Bayrou. "But as soon as you get the feeling of being flooded, of no longer recognising your own country, its lifestyle and its culture, there is a rejection," he said, adding that "we are approaching" this threshold.
“Some cities and regions” are already experiencing it, he said.
The remarks were clearly an effort by the prime minister to pander to the anti-immigration far-right National Rally (RN) party, which holds the prime minister’s political destiny in its hands. Bayrou needs broad support – from the far right as well as the centre-left Socialist Party – if he is to avoid the fate of his predecessor Michel Barnier, who was forced to step down in December.
The flare-up couldn’t have come at a worse time. Bayrou is to present a long-overdue 2025 budget bill in February, and he is hoping to avoid the same type of no-confidence vote that forced out Barnier over a budget impasse.
The prime minister’s remarks provoked an immediate reaction from the left, with Socialist deputy Arthur Delaporte saying they were rooted in “xenophobia”.
The idea of "migrant flooding" (submersion migratoire) dates from the 19th century but was popularised in the 1960s by Dominique Venner, a thinker celebrated by the French far right. Venner killed himself at Notre-Dame Cathedral in 2013 in an apparent protest against the legalisation of gay marriage.But his ideas gained new strength with Jean-Marie Le Pen, who in 1972 founded the far-right National Front party. The party rebranded in 2018 to became the National Rally and is now led by his daughter Marine Le Pen.
These beliefs eventually grew into "Great Replacement" theory, a term coined by author Renaud Camus in his eponymous 2011 book. Camus warned that the mass arrival of immigrants from Africa would lead to the replacement of White and Christian populations, eventually rendering them a minority. He claimed that Europeans and Westerners would then have a culture that is not their own imposed upon them.
Yet the reality contradicts the fears of a "flood", showing the percentage of migrants has risen only about 3 percent over the past half-century. There were 7.3 million immigrants in 2023 out of a total of 68.1 million inhabitants, accounting for 10.7 percent of the French population, according to INSEE, France's national statistics agency. In comparison, immigrants represented 7.4 percent of the population 50 years ago.
The left was quick to slam Bayrou for spreading far-right ideas. Far-left France Unbowed party leader Manuel Bompard said the remarks were “extremely shocking” underscoring that they “didn’t correspond at all with the reality” of immigration statistics.
Green party parliamentary leader Cyrielle Chatelain told franceinfo radio on Tuesday that she was also "extremely shocked" by Bayrou's "shameful" remarks.
“We are not experiencing migrant flooding. It’s the role of the prime minister to remind us of this rather than sharing false ideas.”
Far right claims win in 'ideological battle'
It was “shameful” of Bayrou to "use the words and the fantasies of the far right", according to Socialist parliamentary leader Boris Vallaud.Bayrou’s comments also drew rebukes from his own allies. “I would never have made such statements and I am embarrassed by them," National Assembly speaker Yael Braun-Pivet said on BFMTV on Tuesday.
"Obviously we need to regulate immigration. Obviously we need to be very firm on our values, on the conditions and our requirements for integration (...)” said Braun-Pivet.
“But I don't use these words and I will never use them because I believe that it is contrary to what we are, deep down," she said.
Others appreciated the prime minister’s stance. Hardline Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said in an interview on far right TV network CNews that he thought the Bayrou was "courageous" in his remarks, even suggesting it was a "step forward".
Elected representatives from the National Rally party were the most pleased by Bayrou’s remarks.
"I think we won the ideological battle a long time ago. (…) The French and, later, the government have understood there is a problem with immigration for a long time," said Sébastien Chenu, deputy chief of the party, on the France Inter radio station.
Chenu went even farther, saying Bayrou should be ready to take action to back up his statements.
