French Immigration Law in a European Context - Dissertation Example

European citizenship shall be conferred upon any person holding the nationality of a Member State and shall be known as a citizen of the European Union however such citizenship shall be additional to and not intended to replace national citizenship. And, as EU citizens, they shall have the right to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States; the right to vote and to stand as candidates in elections to the European Parliament and municipal elections in their Member State of residence under the same conditions as nationals of that State; the right to enjoy the protection of the diplomatic and consular authorities of any Member State on the same conditions as the nationals of that State; and the right to petition the European Parliament, to apply to the European Ombudsman, and to address the institutions and advisory bodies of the Union in any of the Treaty languages and to obtain a reply in the same language.

In consonance with the foregoing rights of the EU citizens, the European Parliament and Council Directive 2004/38/EC of 29 April 2004 was issued to govern the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States. It is the task of this dissertation to determine whether the freedom of movement and residence of EU citizens within the Member States is absolute by presenting the national immigration policies of a Member State which for this purpose shall be France.

This dissertation shall endeavor to resolve whether the EU laws and directives on free movement and residence are mandatory and in cases of transgressions, the EU has the power and authority to meet penalties or sanctions against the erring Member States. The French government restructured its immigration system by Act No. 2006-911 of 24 July 2006, otherwise known as the Immigration and Integration Law 2006. The newly enacted law implements a more stringent immigration policy against illegal migrants including EU citizens belonging to the Roma community.

At the forefront is France’s systematic campaign against the Roma community by dismantling its camps and deporting them en masse for real or imagined violations. And worse, the expulsions were implemented without compliance with substantive and procedural due process. Amnesty International (AI) and the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) have publicly denounced the discriminatory and racial misconduct against them by the French government.