Exploring how VET, skills and qualifications were used in the context of the EU Relocation Program, the case of France

Since the beginning of the 2000's French governments have elaborated seven laws on migrations and asylum, the last one voted in 2018 is known as "Loi immigration et asile" or "Loi Colomb" the name of the former Minister of interior Gérard Colomb. All these laws have strengthened the control on migration, threatened the rights of asylum seekers, generate a harsh environment without creating better conditions for the integration of the newcomers. The hard conditions of access to the labour market, to housing, and to basic needs and rights illustrate this situation. However, France was involved in the European programme for the relocation of asylum seekers between September 2015 and September 2017. In the French case, national authorities decided in 2015 to relocate from Italy and Greece around 30,000 individuals during the relocation process. However, at the end of the dispositive in 2017 less than 5,100 refugees had been relocated to France, mainly from Greece. At the same time, French authorities focused on Calais and Grande-Synthe (North of France) where almost 5,000 persons were waiting in camps and slums to reach Great Britain. The relocation dispositive of the migrants from Calais and Grande-Synthe to the other regions temporary halted the French implication in the European relocation programme. According to the French-Italian Summit in September 2017 and despite the tensions that appeared between both States during the relocation dispositive, both governments agreed to continue the relocation programme including 200 relocations per month. This agreement ended with the new elected Italian government.