More than 100,000 People Sought Asylum in France in 2017.

In France, over 200 000 asylum applications were registered in France in 2017 - a "historical" result, to which in particular the increased number of candidates from Albania and West Africa contributed. This was reported by France's Press Service Director for the French Service for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons, Pascal Bris. The number of applications filed with the agency jumped 17 percent last year - to a total of 100,412, at a 6.5 percent growth rate in 2016. The trend for growth is "maintained," though it is not a massive inflow from outside, added Bris. According to him, the data "confirm that France is among the first countries to seek asylum in Europe", but after Germany, which is expecting nearly 200,000 candidates this year.

For a fuller picture, however, migrants who have not yet filed applications at the office should also be included in the bill. At the first stage of the procedure, local authorities check under the Dublin Regulation whether the persons concerned should not apply in another European country. The number of satisfied requests in France has decreased from 38 per cent in 2016 to 36 per cent last year.

In 2018, asylum seekers were mostly from Albania, although it is a country on the list of "safe countries of origin" - 7630 adult applications, of which the French Refugee Service satisfied only 6.5 percent. Afghanistan is second with 5987 requests. Followed by Haiti with 4934, Sudan with 4486, Guinea with 3780. In France, many asylum seekers arrived in 2017 in countries in West Africa, in particular Côte d'Ivoire, whose number grew almost double - to 3243 Congo - 2941, and Algeria - 2456. The average waiting time after asylum application was "down to about three months," and the service will seek to respond...