AdvertisementWorldEuropeImmigration Immigration freeze on table as deep rift splits Europe David Crowe January 29, 2026 — 11:32am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. He joined party colleague Michel Barnier, a former prime minister, in calling for a moratorium on immigration five years ago. The French interior ministry released figures on Wednesday showing 384,000 residency cards were issued to foreigners in 2025, up 11 per cent on 2024. AdvertisementFrance’s junior interior minister, Marie-Pierre Vedrenne, acknowledged on December 31 that this raised questions because Clooney acknowledged he was not fluent in French. “We need to be careful about the message we’re sending.” Interior Minister Laurent Nunez, however, defended the decision.