80% of these refugees are women. Sonia Backès praised this Friday on franceinfo “the investment and solidarity shown by the French”.
“115,000 Ukrainians, 80% of them women” found refuge on French territory and “today benefit from accommodation and an allowance”detailed Sonia Backès, secretary ofEtat in charge of Citizenship in France, Friday February 24 on franceinfo. A year after the start of the conflict in Ukraine, France has spent nearly 500 million euros to offer accommodation to these displaced Ukrainians.
“The figures are never really precise because these people have the right to move within the European Union”underlines the secretary ofEtat. 30,000 Ukrainian refugees are hosted by local residents. “Until the situation is resolved” in Ukraine, “they will stay on French soil as long as they wish”.
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The day before, the former Ukrainian Prime Minister thanked on franceinfo “ordinary French people” for welcoming refugees. “Our country will never forget, launched Yulia Tymoshenko. A quick victory depends only on the weapons (…) and the speed of their delivery. It seems to me that the President of France understands this very well.”
franceinfo: How many Ukrainian refugees are in France?
Sonia Backes: The figures are never really precise because these people have the right to move within the European Union. We have a fairly precise estimate of around 115,000 Ukrainians, 80% women, who are on French territory and who today benefit from accommodation and an allowance. 20,000 children are in school today. I would like to salute the investment and solidarity shown by the French. There were a lot of donations to associations. There was very strong citizen accommodation and the local communities, which were all extremely present as well.
How many refugees have been taken in by locals?
Nearly 30,000 were taken in by local residents. Things are probably destined to change because people did not think of welcoming Ukrainian women and children for so long. Today is a year. So we will probably also have to change our reception prospects since it is probably a situation that is intended to last over time and therefore we will have to perpetuate the accommodation.
Have these refugees entered the labor market?
We have about 15,000 people who have found work in France. The most difficult thing is obviously the language barrier, because their language is quite different from the French language and few French people speak it. So it’s very complicated. But there is a major effort made by the State, associations to have this language training. The children also help enormously because they learn French very quickly at school. Finally, they speak it to their mother and this gradually allows the language to be understood as best as possible.
115,000 refugees in France is seven times less than in Germany and much less than in Spain and Italy. How to explain it?
The Ukrainians made the choice to go where there was already a community. It is true that the Ukrainian community in France was much smaller than in Germany, Spain or elsewhere. There were 17,000 Ukrainians in France before the war, so inevitably, we had quite a few fixations. We nevertheless provided a quality welcome for all those who wanted to come with the reception centers that have been set up. We welcomed at the Porte de Versailles [à Paris, ndlr] up to 1,000 people. The Ukrainians were able to have the answers to all their immediate needs: accommodation, social coverage, allowances. All those who wanted to come, were able to come and are welcomed today. And we continue to have around 2,000 people arriving per month.
What was the cost of this reception?
It cost 500 million euros. I believe that the French understood this immediately with the enormous outpouring of solidarity that took place. We could not miss this French aid. France was at the origin of the temporary protection that was put in place on a European scale. It was the French presidency of the European Union on the initiative of Gérald Darmanin. The invasion took place on February 24, on March 3, the French presidency requested this temporary protection which was put in place on March 9. So France was really in support of this temporary protection. Indeed, it has a cost, but I believe that the French understand it because it is democracy and ultimately our values of freedom that are in question.
Do many Ukrainians express a desire to return to Ukraine?
Today, they do not wish to return until the war is over. The vast majority today tell us that they want to return once the war is over. The vast majority are destined to leave. For now, the temporary protective device, anyway, covers them as long as the situation is not resolved, they can stay and they will stay on French soil as long as they wish.
By welcoming Ukrainian refugees, has France been forced to be less generous in welcoming other refugees, for example Afghans, Turks or Bangladeshis?
Absolutely not ! The choice we have made is that the reception of Ukrainians has no consequences on the other types of reception, in particular on asylum seekers. We wanted not to jeopardize the accommodation of asylum seekers. There was room for everyone. There were no consequences. It is also thanks to the investment of French citizens and local authorities that we have been able to continue to welcome. Now, obviously, not all asylum applications are accepted, whereas clearly, for Ukrainians and given the situation, temporary protection is accepted for everyone.
Are French investigators working on war crimes committed by the Russian army still in Ukraine today?
We have 18 people who are involved in investigations, which make it possible to establish evidence of war crimes. There are also four experts who are made available to the International Criminal Court for the various scientific expertise that can help with these investigations. France is involved in many subjects. We also helped secure a number of embassies. The French embassy of course, but also those of Belgium and Japan. We brought in 1,000 tonnes of material at the humanitarian level. In short, France is very involved alongside Ukraine.