Macron: France To 'Strongly' Boost Control At Borders

French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking at the Spanish border, says that his administration will 'strongly intensify' controls France's borders in order to control illegal immigration.

• Comes as Macron swings his social policy agenda to the political right in the wake of a series of Islamist terrorist attacks across the country.
• Macron's hard-line stance on Islamist terrorism and defence of France's secular culture have seen the president's popularity spike in recent approval rating polls :
  • Approve : 40 % (+11), Disapprove : 55 % (-13), KantarSofres, 31/10/20, +/- vs. 24-28 Sep.
  • Approve : 46 % (+8), Disapprove : 54 % (-8), IFOP/Fiducial, Nov 2020
• If Macron were to put border controls in place with Spain (or indeed any of its land neighbours), it would further undermine the Schengen free travel zone. Some controls were put in place at the borders of various Schengen nations in previous years at the height of the Mediterranean migrant crisis, and again during the COVID-19 pandemic.