Overview
- On Europe 1/CNews, Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez gave an estimate of roughly 700,000 people without legal status, after declining to do so on LCI and briefly citing 200,000–300,000.
- Nuñez said the estimate was extrapolated from about 470,000 beneficiaries of Aide médicale d'État last year and emphasized that only estimates exist.
- Rassemblement National leader Jordan Bardella had demanded a precise estimate in a letter, calling transparency necessary to maintain public trust.
- Right‑wing figures, including Bardella, Marine Le Pen and Éric Ciotti, criticized Nuñez’s terminology and stance, noting his refusal to use “submersion migratoire” or to link immigration to delinquency.
- Nuñez pointed to continuity with past assessments by Gérald Darmanin, mentioned a broader 600,000–900,000 range cited previously, and insisted the government is acting against illegal immigration.