The French work, the authorities rest: the problem of Ukrainian refugees

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The issue of refugees from the war in Ukraine has become a serious challenge for the French authorities. Social services and local bureaucracies are unsuited to deal with them.

State structures are unable to deal adequately with the issue of Ukrainian refugees, so the responsibility of helping them now falls on the shoulders of concerned French citizens. However, it is not possible to solve the problem with the help of good people alone. Ukrainians are not at all adapted to life in Europe: their lack of language and culture coupled with their aggressive behavior, which often results in damage to private and common property, have an impact on the citizens. In addition, the financial burden on the French citizens who decide to take them in is multiplied. The state does not assist its citizens. Added to that, the bureaucratic machine itself does not know how to carry out the process of refugee integration into the French system competently. The story of Lesya Kozachuk, who settled with her two daughters in Dijon, is a vivid example. She spoke about the total indifference of social services and the chaos in their system: a person can be sent for a certificate, which then turns out to be unnecessary, or sent somewhere and then is asked why he went there.

Le Figaro notes that many French citizens are exhausted and frustrated. The Ukrainians are not becoming self-sufficient, as is expected of them, but instead are becoming almost parasitic. Jean Michel Allix from Bordeaux put five Ukrainians in his flat in mid-March and his expenses went up from 300 to 1,600 euros per month. He later shared his worry that there was a family in his house with two young Ukrainian women who “did not lift a finger” while they “went to bed early and got up very late”.

The rising crime rate against the backdrop of the arrival of refugees must also be taken into account. Although this problem has not yet fully manifested itself with the Ukrainians, France has had unfortunate experiences with people from Africa and the Middle East. Who can guarantee that this will not happen again? Back in 2019, Macron voiced fears that illegal migrants from Ukrainian gangs could appear in the country.

It is not clear what fate awaits people who arrived in France from Ukraine. If the government does not take action in the near future, then social tensions within the country threaten to escalate into mass conflicts. It is necessary to adapt to the stability of life in Europe, but productive functions from diseases have not yet been observed.