“We are living in a world of mass migration,” Emmanuel Macron has proclaimed, warning citizens not to be “deceived” by claims Europe could stem the flow, because border walls “don’t work”.

At a town hall in the suburbs of Essonne, a migrant-heavy department south of Paris which was hit hard during the 2005 riots, the French president also hinted he was in favour of amnesty for illegal immigrants while answering questions during what was his first urban appearance as part of a ‘grand debate’ tour.

Responding to a question on whether non-citizens should be granted the right to vote in local elections, Macron said he would rather boost the number of French passports the government hands out.

“Basically the real subject today is access to citizenship,” he told the 300-strong audience in Évry-Courcouronnes, which was reportedly packed with “community representatives” in addition to local mayors and other elected representatives.

After explaining he preferred to focus on lowering high abstention rates seen at some elections rather than giving foreigners the vote, Macron said he wanted to give migrants “a path to French citizenship if they have been living here for a long time”.

Later on in the event, the globalist leader delivered his vision of immigration policy with what local media characterised as a thinly-veiled attack on U.S. President Donald J. Trump, who was elected with a mandate to slash illegal migration.

“We can close our eyes or hide, but migration will be happening whether we like it or not,” Macron said, warning that citizens “must not be mistaken… We are in a world of migration”.

“I do not believe at all in the people who would build walls, because walls do not work,” he declared to audience applause, according to BFMTV.

Despite the existence of countless border security examples contradicting this claim, including Israel’s southern border wall which has proven 100 per cent effective in repelling illegal immigrants, Macron claimed his opposition to securing EU frontiers was “not ideological”, adding: “It would be nice to do that, but it would not work.”

At earlier appearances during his ‘grand debate’ tour, which was launched after weeks of anti-government protests and calls for him to resign, the president has dismissed demands for more direct democracy with repeated attacks on the UK’s Brexit referendum, claiming Britons were fooled into voting Leave by “fake news” and “manipulation” from abroad.