France to enforce border checks across all borders starting November
Another European country suspends the Schengen free movement area. Starting November 1, France will reintroduce border checks at all of its borders. This temporary measure is set to remain in place until April 30, 2025.
Following Germany's recent reintroduction of border checks, France has announced its intention to re-establish controls at its borders with six European countries beginning on November 1, according to French Prime Minister Michel Barnier.
France has conducted similar border checks with Italy since 2015. In a few days, these controls will be extended to all of France’s borders, specifically with Luxembourg, Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, and Spain.
“This model has proven effective,” wrote Michel Barnier on X. “We will now extend it to cover all of France’s land borders.”
According to reports in the French press, these checks are expected to continue until April 30, 2025, based on the notification France sent to the European Commission. In line with the Schengen free movement principle, a member state may only reintroduce internal border controls temporarily and in the face of a serious threat to public order or internal security.
France has justified the expansion of this measure, citing “serious threats to public order and internal security posed by high-level terrorist activities, the growing presence of criminal networks facilitating illegal immigration and trafficking, and migratory flows that risk being infiltrated by radicalised individuals.”
Les Français attendent de nous une politique efficace de maîtrise de l'immigration. Le Gouvernement vient de notifier la Commission européenne de la prolongation du contrôle aux frontières intérieures, instauré depuis 2015. À la frontière italienne, la force frontière a été…
— Michel Barnier (@MichelBarnier) October 18, 2024
According to Sudinfo, these checkpoints—twenty of which will be set up ad hoc—will specifically target the Belgian cities of Mouscron, Tournai, and Menin. “It is essential to monitor certain side effects, particularly related to traffic. Long lines could form near the checkpoints, increasing the risk of accidents close to the borders,” warned the Mouscron police.
Germany began conducting border checks at all its borders in mid-September. At its border with Belgium, Berlin has primarily limited these to on-the-spot inspections. The Netherlands also plans to implement similar measures, although not until the end of November.
Norway, a Schengen Area member country, has likewise extended internal border checks until November 11.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
