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French reforms to national asylum system take effect

A law aiming to speed up and streamline the processing of refugee claims in France went into effect on Monday. The law, which passed over the summer, strengthens two government agencies and increases the availability of temporary housing for asylum seekers.

Migrants wait outside the Jules Ferry reception center
Migrants wait outside the Jules Ferry reception center REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol
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Faced with an unprecedented influx of migrants, French deputies adopted a series of reforms designed to make its national asylum system more manageable.

Two main changes have gone into effect as part of the new law.

Firstly, two government agencies are hiring significantly more people to handle refugee claims. L'Office français de protection des réfugiés et apatrides (Ofpra) is said to be creating 126 new positions, whereas l'Office français de l'immigration et de l'intégration is adding 100.

At present it often takes so long to process claims in France that many asylum seekers find themselves settled in the country only to have their applications rejected.

The second part of the reform law deals with the issue of temporary housing for asylum seekers. The French government is promising to create 18,500 new places in its reception centres

The new law takes effect as UN figures for October put the number of migrants and refugees to cross the Mediterranean to Europe at 218,394.

The UN says it is a monthly record and represents nearly the same number as the whole of 2014.

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