Migration, ett säkerhetshot mot den franska nationen? : en retorisk argumentationsanalys av förarbetet till den franska utlänningslagen från år 2011

Sammanfattning: This thesis aims to analyse arguments regarding the new migration law from 2011 in France, through a securitization perspective. The law was introduced as an answer to three European directives: regulating unauthorized migration, promoting highly qualified employment from third world countries and taking sanctions against employers using illegal labour. The law gives French authorities and the French police greater freedom to remove migrants from their territory. However, several non-governmental organisations have claimed that the new law violates international law; such as the right of free movement understood as the right of asylum according to international conventions, which leads to the primary concern of this paper. This paper questions how French politicians have legally justified the law, while being aware of their obligations under international law, such as the right to seek asylum. This study proposes to examine the logic behind the arguments of the French parliament. The purpose of the law is stated as “creating a fair and balanced policy that ensures an efficient control on immigration and integration. France has been outspoken regarding national rights to control borders based on the EU-directives mentioned, but seldom mention their obligations towards people who want to seek asylum, protection of individual liberty, freedom from arbitrary practices and discrimination. Through a method of rhetorical argument analysis, one can note that from the beginning the debate refers to migrants as criminals and enemies, which borders need to be protected from. The debate primarily focused on migration being a threat to public order, which is influenced by xenophobic ideology. The new law was supposed to promote a fair and balanced policy regarding immigration and integration, yet the consequences have been otherwise. The law came into force under Sarkozy’s government and enabled xenophobic discourse in the French society where people are classified according to their ethnicity.