- Since the closure of borders on the occasion of certain attacks was ordered in 2015, the French Government has repeatedly enacted this order, and many agents have denounced the permanent control of borders, especially of migrants. The complaint has now reached the Council of State, an important organ of the judiciary.
In 2015, the then President, François Hollande, ordered the closure of the borders for one month, but border controls have already become commonplace – on fifteen occasions France has called for the extension of the emergency situation vis-à-vis Brussels – even at the borders between the Southern Basque Country and the Northern Basque Country. Numerous actors have denounced the situation, including the Irun Reception Network, recalling that these controls have resulted in a number of migrants who have died trying to cross the border by other means endangering their lives.
As explained in Naiz, on the basis of a resolution by the Court of Justice of the European Union, an Austrian citizen who denounced control at the border between Slovenia and Austria, in the Franchise State Council four associations working with migrants have denounced: Anafé, Gisti, Cimade and Human Rights League. These associations argue that the extensions requested by the French Government are illegal and oppose the free movement of persons.
The Court of Justice of the European Union, in its resolution, has clearly stated that only a new threat can justify the extension of the closing of limits.