Iranian Asylum Seeker Ordered to Leave France Despite Marriage to French Woman

The French administrative court, which handles lawsuits against the government, confirmed that an Iranian asylum seeker must leave France. This ruling was issued despite the romantic relationship and marriage of this Iranian asylum seeker to a French woman. This relationship is described in a book, which has also been adapted into a film in France. Eight years ago, in 2016, an Iranian asylum seeker identified by the media as 'Mokhtar M.' managed to illegally cross from northern France to the UK by boat. A French woman, Beatrice Aurel, who is an advocate for asylum seekers, had helped him procure this boat and had established a romantic relationship with him. Ms. Aurel was found guilty by the French judiciary for aiding this asylum seeker but was exempted from punishment. She narrated her relationship with this Iranian asylum seeker in a book titled 'My Love Calais,' which was quickly turned into a film and released in French cinemas in 2022. Beatrice Aurel recounts how her encounter with this Iranian migrant changed her life and beliefs. Previously an activist for the far-right and anti-immigrant National Rally party led by Marine Le Pen, she had never visited the Calais jungle in northern France where asylum seekers camp. One day, while returning home from work, she saw Mokhtar and offered him a ride to the Calais jungle. Upon arriving and seeing the tents of the asylum seekers from a distance, she was moved. From then on, she decided to help asylum seekers by distributing food. Mokhtar, now 43, returned to France in March 2022 after several years in the UK and a long-distance relationship with Beatrice. Simultaneously with their marriage, he applied for residency from the French government. However, two years later, on March 19, 2024, the government denied his residency permit and informed him that he must leave French territory, issuing a one-year ban on his return to France. On December 11, this month, Mokhtar appealed this government decision in the Lille administrative court, citing his marital status in France and the dangers he would face if he returned to Iran due to his conversion to Christianity, requesting the expulsion order be revoked and a residency permit be issued. However, on December 26, the court ruled that Mokhtar's marriage was recent and did not justify his social or professional integration into French territory. Furthermore, according to the judges, he did not prove that he would be in danger if he returned to Iran. Therefore, the court upheld the expulsion order previously issued by the government. Nevertheless, the judges lifted the ban on returning to France, considering his family ties and the absence of a threat to public order in France. Thus, Mokhtar M. must leave French territory, but his lawyer described the administrative court's decision as 'disappointing' and announced plans to appeal. According to the law, the execution of the expulsion order should not take place before such an appeal is processed. The court's ruling came just days after the murder of two Iranian Kurdish asylum seekers in northern France, precisely in the same area where Mokhtar lives, which also provoked a reaction from the Islamic Republic government. The issue of illegal crossings by asylum seekers across the English Channel is a contentious topic between France and the UK. According to recent statistics from the British government, the number of asylum seekers illegally crossing this channel has increased compared to the previous year.