France’s Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez confirmed at the National Assembly that the country is holding technical discussions with the Taliban authorities to return Afghans in an irregular situation.

Nuñez cited Germany as a precedent and said some of these Afghans may pose threats to public order, making it a priority to be able to return them. Green MP Léa Balage accused the government of a beginning of normalization of diplomatic relations with a regime that commits crimes against humanity and practices gender apartheid. France has not had diplomatic relations with the Taliban since the group’s return to power in August 2021, and a diplomatic source said the talks do not call that position into question.