This photo taken on December 11, 2017, shows the tents of undocumented refugees where they have been camping outside the prefecture of the Bouches-du-Rhone department in Marseille. (Photo by AFP)

France has reported a "historic" record of asylum claims in the last year amid efforts by officials to legitimize deportations for asylum seekers who have come to the European country due to economic reasons.

Pascal Brice, head of refugee protection agency Ofpra, said on Monday that France saw a record 100,000 asylum claims in 2017, noting that the numbers were just half of those seen in neighboring Germany.

“It's a historic level,” Brice said, adding, “It confirms that France is one of the countries receiving the most asylum claims in Europe.”

He said the biggest group applying for asylum in France last year was from Albania, and arrivals from the country recorded a 66-percent jump compared to 2016.

Afghanistan came second with 6,000 applications, followed by Haiti, Guyana and Sudan.

Meanwhile, Syrians made up the next group with 3,000 applications, a 10-percent reduction from the previous year.

Refugees queue outside a facility to apply for asylum, in Paris, on December 21, 2017. (Photo by AP)

There was also a sharp increase in the number of applications from francophone West Africa, including Ivory Coast and DR Congo with most of them arriving in Europe from North Africa embarkation points, mainly Libya.

The rising trend comes amid efforts by President Emmanuel Macron's administration to pass new legislation on immigration, which could make it easier for authorities to reject asylum applications that are based on economic reasons. That would mean all Albanians would be deported as their home country is considered "safe” while almost all Syrians were granted asylum last year due to an ongoing conflict in the Arab country.

Macron’s plans to curb refugee arrivals also come against reports of police abuse of refugees in Calais, the site of former notorious "Jungle" camp in northern France, where many refugees hope to have an opportunity to cross into Britain.

In December 2017, Human Rights Watch warned that refugees and asylum seekers in Calais were facing desperate living conditions as police in the city employed excessive force against asylum seekers and other refugees.

“The ongoing police violence and destruction and confiscation of people’s belongings [are] inhumane and unconscionable,” said Bénédicte Jeannerod, France director at Human Rights Watch.

“The French authorities should immediately put an end to these abuses and ensure that migrants are treated with the dignity to which every human being is entitled,” she added.