Editor's note: This article is part of an ongoing WPR series on the European refugee crisis and European Union member states' approaches to addressing it.
French President Francois Hollande held talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday on the refugee crisis, with a French official reporting that the two leaders agreed on policy objectives. However, France’s response to the refugee crisis has been far more subdued than Germany’s. In an email interview, Didier Fassin, professor at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton and director of studies at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales in Paris, discussed French policy on migrants and asylum seekers.
WPR: How has the refugee crisis manifested itself in France, and what policies is the government pursing on a national level to address the consequences?