A joint commission has been set up in the Provisional Consultative Assembly to consider the question of foreigners resident in France and legislation to settle their status, it was learned here today.
The commission will study measures to regulate the position of foreigners long resident in this country and to fix their rights of domicile, labor and naturalization. France had a foreign population of about 3,300,000 at the outbreak of the war in 1939 and, owing to her declining population and manpower shortage has been giving increasing consideration to a policy of encouraging immigration from other countries of Europe.
Minister of Justice Francis do Menthon has already ordered a review of the applications for naturalization suspended by the Vichy regime in July, 1940, with priority for those cases in which the applicant rendered service to France during the hostilities.
The Minister of the Interior has now ordered the registration next month of all foreigners resident in France. “This census,” his order stated, “should make possible exact statistics by nationality and occupation. It should also be the chance for those whose situation has not yet been regularized to obtain the necessary residence permits.”
Pointing out that the immense majority of foreigners have merited by their worthy and often courageous attitude during the occupation the complete goodwill of the French authorities, the order added that every precaution should be taken to limit to the minimum the inconveniences the registration might cause.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
