‘I saw the hatred caused by Brexit – now I fear France will be the same’

British expats and foreigners living in France fear that their rights could be eroded under a potential far-right government after the National Rally (RN) pledged to crack down on immigration.

Opinion polls ahead of the first round of voting on Sunday have suggested the RN has a comfortable lead of 33 per cent – 36 per cent of the popular vote, with a hastily assembled left-wing coalition, the New Popular Front, in second place on 28 per cent – 31 per cent and Macron’s centrist alliance in third on 20 per cent – 23 per cent.

The far-right party led by Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella has announced plans to ban dual nationals from holding key “strategic positions” in the defense or security sectors as well as scrap the right of nationality for children born in France and raised by foreign parents. It also plans to restrict welfare and healthcare access for foreigners and preference some people for welfare payments in a breach of EU rules.

The crackdown has affected the mood of British expats and foreigners living in the UK who don’t have French nationality, with some feeling like their future in their adopted home is in doubt.

David Schischka Thomas is an art dealer and DJ from Birmingham who has been living in France for eight years with his wife, near Limoges. He said the current election has led them to think hard about their future in the country.

“We have lived through the rise of the far right in the UK with all the racism, hatred, misinformation, and then the polarisation caused by Brexit,” he told i. “I am now worried that France will go the same way.”

“My wife is black and we are both very anti-far right,” he adds.

“I would go for French citizenship, as I could still keep my UK citizenship, but my wife is both British and a New Zealander, so she would lose her NZ citizenship, and is not willing to do so.”

For now, they cannot imagine going back to the United Kingdom.

“We both know many French people, they are all left-leaning and angry about what is happening. Most of the Brits around here are complacent and don’t think it will affect them. Even the local French conned by the far right apparently say we are not the type of migrants that they want out of France.”

“But most of the people who vote for the far right are easily manipulated, in my opinion. We have been made to feel very welcome on the whole, there is just an occasional obvious racist my wife notices. But will it change?”

Marine Le Pen casts her vote in the first round of parliamentary elections in Henin-Beaumont, North of France, today (Photo: Francois Lo Presti/AFP)

Briton Sarah Barden, who lives between France and Belgium, has not become a French citizen despite years spent in Paris. Now she is worried she won’t be able to plan her future in the country.

“The issue isn’t the vote only, but how broken the country is,” she told i, saying that the snap election campaign has shown a lack of leadership, with many people feeling forgotten. “This campaign had zero mention of current wars, the economy, preserving green spaces, hopes for the young and old, how we fund fossil fuel… It’s only about blaming immigrants.”

Fiona, who did not want to reveal her last name and is also from Britain, moved to France in 2008 and considers it her home. She lives in Brittany near Saint-Malo, where she has her own textile and design store.

“I’ve built my business and life here. My family is French – my husband, my daughter. I’m really upset that I can’t vote. I started the citizenship process before Covid and had a heap of issues that slowed down the process. I’m going through the paperwork again now. I’m really worried. For the first time, I’ve felt like maybe I should keep my head low. There are people canvassing for the RN (National Rally) in our village, though, traditionally this wouldn’t have been a far-right area.”

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Immigrants from other countries share the feeling, as well as some French Arabs who say they will never be seen as “French enough”.

Nu Barreto, a French Guinea artist living near Paris, said he is not panicking but feels the country is facing a stark choice.

“I know who to vote for. We have to fight this atmosphere and convince as many people to vote. It’s a global atmosphere and it won’t disappear just right now,” he said.

Tunisian French writer Farah Abdessamad said: “The issue has never been about French German or French Canadian dual nationals, but it’s about France’s unaddressed legacies regarding its formerly colonised indigènes, its inability to embrace diversity, to see colour and race.”

She added: “And yes, it hurts that these ideas have perverted the minds of so many so quickly, but it’s not coming from thin air either.”

That even binationals are now singled out by the far-right and their enablers is no mistake: it’s part of a continuum that previously essentialised Arabs and relegated their rights during the colonial era.

“Today, we Arabs are made into conditional citizens who will never be seen as French enough, though authorities continue to deny that systemic racism exists.”