In an unexpected ruling with potentially far-reaching political and social repercussions, the National Court of Asylum Law (CNDA) of France determined that all Palestinians residing in Gaza can be considered eligible to apply for full refugee status on French territory, opening the door to mass illegal immigration.
The ruling arises from the case of a Palestinian woman who applied for asylum after the October 7 attacks carried out by the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas against Israel. Although her request was initially rejected by the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (OFPRA), on the grounds that there was no direct individual persecution, the court overturned that decision.
In its opinion, the CNDA held that the military conduct displayed by the Israel Defense Forces in Gaza represents a sufficiently serious threat to be classified as alleged "persecution." On that basis, it determined that the applicant is entitled to receive full protection under the terms of the 1951 Geneva Convention.
Militantes pro Palestina en Francia.
This ruling marks a significant shift in French asylum policy regarding Palestinians in Gaza and could influence future applications from that region.
The decision provoked a strong reaction from sectors critical of illegal immigration, especially from Muslim countries. These sectors warn that the ruling could enable the arrival of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians, who would now have a legal pathway to seek asylum in France.
Meanwhile, Éric Zemmour, a right-wing political leader of Jewish origin, expressed his concern in a column published in Le Figaro, warning that the ruling could facilitate the arrival of "millions of Muslims whom no Muslim country wants."
Terrorista de Hamás.
Among the voices raised was also that of Henda Ayari, a well-known secular activist and former Muslim, who expressed her concern about France's decision to receive refugees from a region where ideologies hostile to the West predominate and with a strong antisemitic sentiment.
"France is already facing internal instability, with growing tensions in many suburbs with a large influx of immigrants," Ayari stated on her social media. She added: "Now it is unconditionally opening its doors to people from a region where terrorist groups operate openly and where some applauded the massacres of October 7."
Her words reflect widespread concern about the risks to national security posed by admitting immigrants from territories controlled by terrorist organizations such as Hamas, especially when even neighboring Muslim countries have chosen not to receive them.
