Say hello to France as it leaves: the door is being opened to Palestinian refugees from Gaza

Amid the Bastille Day celebrations, France finds itself embroiled in a new controversy following a court decision that could redefine its migration policy. The National Asylum Court, based in Paris, has for the first time granted refugee status to a mother and her son who fled Gaza after October 7, 2023.

The measure could open the doors to more than 400,000 Gazans who are not registered with UNRWA and therefore did not previously qualify for this type of protection in France.

The ruling explicitly mentions the Israeli military operation in Gaza as the justifying context. This expands the legal framework for future applications. According to sources within the judicial system, more than 200 similar petitions are already under review.

The decision triggered a chain reaction in the French political sphere. The right warns of a possible "silent invasion" that could alter the demographic and security balance. In contrast, the left applauds the move as an act of humanity toward "survivors of genocide."

The debate is intensifying after a recent violent episode in the immigrant neighborhood of La Chapelle, in the 18th district of Paris, where two Palestinians stabbed each other for reasons still unknown. The police see in this incident a possible harbinger of the kind of conflicts that the new wave of migration could bring.