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Upon arrival at an external border, people are mainly checked as to their identity, with the border police checking the documents presented to enter the country. If a decision to refuse entry is notified, people are maintained in waiting zones after provision of information on their rights: the foreigner may request the assistance of an interpreter and a doctor, and may communicate with a lawyer or any other person of their choice. If an asylum application has been lodged, a favourable decision may be issued, allowing access to the territory to register the application: only then will the Eurodac fingerprints be taken (for further details, see Border procedure (border and transit zones)). No other checks (health, security, vulnerability) seem to be carried out at the border.
The new concept of ‘adequate capacity’ under the Pact on Asylum and Migration refers to the capacity required of Member States to conduct asylum and return procedures at the border (for people coming out of the new screening process). It is set at 30,000 at EU level, and at 615 for France (capacity to have at all times), with a maximum overall capacity set at 1,230 for the period between 12 June 2026 and 12 June 2027 (maximum number of applications that have to be processed under the asylum border procedure), then 1,845 from 13 June 2027 to 14 October 2027. The calculation methods raise questions, given that 11,898 people were refused entry at France’s external borders in 2024 (no figures available for 2025), excluding overseas territories, and are all likely to be subject to the new Screening Regulation.
To date, France has 300 places, most of them in the waiting area for persons pending asylum (ZAPI) at Roissy-Charles de Gaulle Airport (157 places). A total of 8,722 people were placed in waiting areas across mainland France in 2024.