Right to asylum in France

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Asylum in France is, according to OFPRA, "the protection granted by a receiving State to an alien who cannot, against persecution, benefit from that of the authorities of his country of origin". It is a right granted to persons who are recognized as refugees or granted subsidiary protection.

The right of asylum is constitutional. However, in most cases, refugee status is recognized under the Convention relating to the Status of Modified Refugees of 28 July 1951.

In France, in 2011, there were asylum applications and positive decisions. With applications in 2012, France is the second most popular European country.

In 2016, applications were registered at OFPRA, including first applications (minors included) and reviews. The number of protection status (refugee and subsidiary protection) decisions taken by OFPRA and CNDA in 2016 was 35.1% higher than the total positive decisions in 2015.

The right to asylum and refugee status in legislation
In addition to the sources of international and European law, the right of asylum in France derives its constitutional value from the preamble to the 1946 Constitution (preamble paragraph 4) and the 1958 Constitution (article 53-1).

The Constitutional Council confirmed the constitutional value of the right of asylum in its decisions 79-109 DC of 9 January 1980 and 80-116 DC of 17 July 1980.

The Code of Entry and Residence of Aliens and Asylum (CESEDA) specifies its regime in Book VII, which is the result of the Act of 10 December 2003 amending the Act of 25 July 1952. CESEDA was amended by the Act of 20 November 2007. These changes include:
The transfer of competence in matters relating to the award of asylum from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Ministry of the Interior.
In the case of asylum at the border, the introduction of a suspensive appeal within 48 hours (Art. L-213-9 of the CESEDA) to replace the application for a stay of proceedings without a time limit.
Replacement of the Refugee Appeals Board by the National Asylum Court.
Asylum law will be amended in 2014 by law, following the adoption of the asylum package by the European Union between 2011 and 2013.

The Code of Entry and Residence of Aliens and Asylum was updated in 2021.

Application for asylum

General
The application for asylum in France is made to the State representative in the department (usually the prefect) or to the police prefect in Paris. It can also be made to a French consulate abroad. Where the application is filed in the territory, it may not be refused to consider the application simply on the ground that the person has entered the national territory illegally (application of the