Paris will speak to Taliban to return Afghans in irregular condition

Athe sources are cited by the French news agency AFP.

“As with other European countries, a technical dialogue with the Taliban was initiated to facilitate the direct removal to Afghanistan of irregular Afghan citizens representing a threat to public order,” said the diplomatic source, who asked for anonymity due to the sensitivity of the subject.

The same source stressed that these discussions “do not question” the French position on Afghanistan.

France has not had diplomatic relations with the Taliban since its return to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, and its embassy in Kabul remains closed.

But alongside Germany, Belgium and also Sweden, it is part of a group of about twenty European Union countries in favour of accelerating the expulsions of irregular Afghans, particularly those convicted of their participation in trafficking or violence against people.

The Taliban authorities, which are not officially recognised as power holders in Afghanistan by the European Union, are seeking to strengthen their international presence.

On 31 August, Berlin had thus announced that it had authorised the entry into its territory of representatives of the Taliban government to deal exclusively with “technical” issues related to the expulsion of Afghans to their country of origin.

The German Ministry of Foreign Affairs had then taken care to clarify that these representatives, subjected to security control, were not “diplomats accredited in Germany”.

In short, this opening did not constitute a normalisation of diplomatic relations.

Asked by AFP about the possible arrival of Taliban representatives in France to facilitate expulsion procedures, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond.

The diplomatic source, in turn, did not want to specify the number of Afghans who might have been involved in this process. But a source close to the process, however, speaks of a significant volume, “hundreds” of people potentially targeted by these measures.

“ The concrete modalities are under study”, said the diplomatic source.

In June, a meeting in Brussels between European officials and Taliban representatives had provoked harsh criticism from human rights organisations and left-wing elected representatives in the European Parliament.

They denounced any contact with a regime which, since its return to power, imposed a rigorous interpretation of Islamic law and deprived women and girls of fundamental rights.

Afghans are excluded from many jobs, as well as from most public spaces, and access to education is also prohibited for girls over 12. According to UNESCO, about 2.4 million young Afghans are currently deprived of secondary education.

In parallel with these measures aimed at Afghans subject to an order to leave France (OQTF), Paris claims to maintain its support for the Afghan population, in particular women.

France continues to send humanitarian aid through NGOs and UN agencies on the ground. It also welcomes Afghans and Afghans threatened in their country under the right of asylum.

“ Since 2015, France has become one of the main Afghan refugee host countries following the Syrian crisis, the closure policies in northern Europe and the collapse of the Afghan regime,” said Didier Leschi, Director General of the French Immigration and Integration Office (Ofii), in June 2025.

“ With over 100,000 Afghans present in 2024, this migration has become a massive phenomenon, recent, unexpected by its size,” he added.

Germany has about 450,000 Afghan citizens in its territory, according to its diplomacy.