France to present legislation to speed up asylum processing times

PARIS, 12 July. - (ANA) - The French government will present draft legislation in September aimed at reducing the amount of time spent on processing asylum requests, and on finding more accommodation for asylum seekers, said Prime Minister Edouard Philippe.

"Our current standards are not as high as what they should be in France," Philippe told reporters on Wednesday.

Asylum-seekers and immigration were among the most important topics in this year's French presidential election, with France struggling to cope with migrants gathering at sites in northern Paris and Calais.

Philippe said France would aim to provide asylum seekers with extra accommodation over the next two years, and would look to cut down asylum processing times to about six months on average.

He said the government would look to create 4,000 extra accommodation spaces for asylum seekers in 2018, and another 3,500 in 2019. - (ANA) -

AB/ANA/ 12 July 2017 - - -