Why Immigration Has Become France’s Defining Political Issue

Mark Krikorian

By Mark Krikorian on July 30, 2026

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Summary

This week’s episode of the Center for Immigration Studies’ “Parsing Immigration Policy” podcast features Nicolas Pouvreau-Monti, co-founder and executive director of the French immigration think tank L'Observatoire de l'Immigration et de la Démographie (OID), discussing how record immigration, failed assimilation, and growing public frustration have made immigration the dominant political issue in France ahead of next year’s presidential election.

The discussion examines immigration’s demographic, economic, and cultural impacts on France, as well as the emergence of OID as one of the country’s leading sources of non-partisan immigration research at a time when immigration has become the central issue in French politics.

Founded just three years ago by six co-founders concerned about France’s migration crisis, OID was established to fill what Monti describes as a void in public debate by providing reliable data, research, and analysis on immigration.

Among the topics discussed:

France’s foreign-born population has reached a historic high, with immigration increasingly originating from outside Europe.
Why most French citizens support lower immigration levels, yet government policy has largely failed to respond.
The economic effects of large-scale immigration, including workforce participation, welfare spending, and pressure on public services.
France’s retreat from assimilation and the challenges of integrating immigrants from culturally distinct regions.
Why immigration is expected to be the defining issue in France’s 2027 presidential election.

Monti is the author of the award-winning book Immigration, Mythes et Réalités, which challenges common claims about immigration using demographic and economic data. OID is a member of the International Network for Immigration Research (INIR), joining the Center for Immigration Studies and other partner organizations in the United States, Israel, and Hungary.

In his commentary, Krikorian, the Center's executive director, introduces new CIS Fellow Mahvash Siddiqui, a former U.S. Foreign Service Officer. Siddiqui’s first analyses for the Center examine industrialized fraud in the H-1B visa program, based on her experience as a consular officer, and a recent federal court decision striking down the Trump administration’s $100,000 entry fee for H-1B visa holders .

Host

Mark Krikorian is the Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies.

Guest

Nicolas Pouvreau-Monti is the co-founder and executive director of the French immigration think tank L'Observatoire de l'Immigration et de la Démographie (OID).