This article builds on two statistical observations and suggests a new analytical lens for migration studies. The first is that, compared with other major European countries, France attracts fewer migrants, both European and non-European. This is a trend that has remained stable over the last two decades. The second observation is that there is an administrative “French exception” which remains little-known: France issues the highest number of orders to leave the territory in Europe. On the basis of these two observations, we seek to open a debate on international indicators of migratory “attractiveness”: since countries with similar proportions of foreigners can behave very differently towards them, we argue for the introduction of a “repulsiveness” indicator.