France’s immigration policy undergoes a stringent overhaul as the French parliament successfully passes legislation aimed at tightening the nation’s stance on immigration.
Both President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist Renaissance party and Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) throw their support behind the amended bill, creating a rare alliance on this legislative front.
The vote triggers internal strife within Mr. Macron’s party, resulting in the resignation of Health Minister Aurélien Rousseau as a protest against the decision.
Leaders from a third of French regions make a collective declaration of non-compliance with certain measures in the law, highlighting a unified stand against specific provisions.
Opposition from the National Rally and the left leads to the rejection of a previous draft by parliament last week. In response, the government revises the bill, strengthening some of its provisions.
The new legislation makes it more difficult for migrants to bring family members to France and delays their access to welfare benefits.
It also bans detaining minors in detention centres.
A controversial provision discriminates between citizens and migrants, even those living in the country legally, in determining eligibility for benefits.
The tougher version appealed to right-wing parties, who backed it on Monday.
Ms Le Pen welcomed the amended bill, calling it an “ideological victory” for the far-right.
‘This is our bill,’ said Eric Ciotti, the leader of the right-wing Republican party. He called it ‘firm and courageous’.
But left-wingers said Mr Macron was enabling the far-right. “History will remember those who betrayed their convictions,” Socialist party leader Olivier Faure said.
Paris and 31 other departments, constituting nearly one-third of France’s 101, declare their refusal to enforce the provisions of the law regarding benefits for non-citizens.
Hours before an EU agreement on the reform of the asylum system across its 27 member states, the French vote took center stage.
EU governments and European Parliament members agree on a new pact that entails the establishment of border detention centers and facilitates the expedited deportation of rejected asylum seekers.
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Parliament President Roberta Metsola praises the newly established system as a groundbreaking agreement, enabling the relocation of asylum seekers from southern member states—those facing the highest arrival numbers—to other countries.
While pending formal approval from both the Parliament and member states, the agreement awaits the green light for implementation.
The governing alliance reveals internal fractures with the new French legislation, as 27 MPs cast dissenting votes, and 32 choose to abstain—constituting almost a quarter of pro-Macron MPs.
Stepping down in protest against the immigration law, Health Minister Aurélien Rousseau, who had ties with the Communist party in his youth, resigns from his position.
‘Some measures in the bill make me very uncomfortable,’ said Yaël Braun-Pivet, the president of the lower house of parliament and a member of Mr Macron’s party.
The bill teetered on the brink of passage if Ms. Le Pen’s party opted for abstention, a contrast to the potential outcome with a vote against. The government, emphasizing the magnitude of its majority, contended that National Rally votes were not indispensable.
Speaking after the vote, the prime minister acknowledged the potential constitutional issues with certain measures in the law.
‘We will ask the Constitutional Council,’ she told French radio, referring to a top court which upholds the constitution’s principles.
Human rights groups denounced the new reform as the most regressive immigration law for decades.
The June 2022 elections dealt a blow to Mr. Macron’s party, costing them their parliamentary majority and subsequently causing the government to face difficulties in securing votes in parliament.