The political rollercoaster surrounding French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin’s immigration law seems to have run its course. On Tuesday evening, both chambers of the French parliament, after numerous political twists and turns loops agreed to a tightened version of the bill that Darmanin presented almost a year ago. The government is breathing a sigh of relief, but only the radical right Rassemblement National (RN) and the conservative Republicans (LR) can really go to bed satisfied.
After an unlikely coalition from the radical left to the radical right rejected the text of the law as previously approved in the Senate last Monday without treating it substantively, a week of tug-of-war, parliamentary tricks and political tension began in political Paris. At the request of President Emmanuel Macron, a committee was formed with members of the Senate and the Assembly who had to come together to a compromise text that had to then be approved by both chambers – without substantive debate.
It was immediately clear that the law would take a rightward turn: the Macron camp does not have a majority in parliament and needed the support of the Republicans – who are the leaders in the field of immigration – both in committee and in the votes in both chambers. has become increasingly radically right-wing in recent years. And so the committee, with extensive encouragement from its supporters, reached an agreement on Tuesday afternoon that is significantly stricter in nature than the initial bill. A few hours later, the ‘Macronists’, their right-wing partners and the radical right-wing RN convincingly voted the proposal through parliament.
Also read
Macron’s migration law also falters his political strategy
Migration quotas and restrictions on rights
The text of the law has been tightened on a number of points. The text states, among other things, that parliament will vote annually on “migration quotas” for the number of immigrants allowed in France. It also becomes more difficult for non-European immigrants who do not have a job in France to claim certain benefits. Immigrants without work will have to wait five years after arrival until they are entitled to things such as child benefits and housing benefits. For immigrants who do work, this period is shorter. (Foreign students, refugees and people who receive a residence permit are in an exceptional position.)
Furthermore, it is no longer self-evident that young people born in France to foreign parents will acquire French nationality at the age of eighteen. If a foreigner born in France is convicted of a crime, he loses the chance of this naturalization. Illegal residence in France will also become a crime again (this was made illegal by former socialist president François Hollande). fetched).
One of the main ‘left’ points of the initial legal text, the idea of giving papers to migrants who are already in France and who work undeclared in sectors with labor shortages in some cases, is subject to additional rules. Furthermore, it should become more difficult for ‘sick foreigners’ who cannot receive medical care in their country of origin to obtain a residence permit. And some foreign students have to pay a deposit to ensure that they leave again after their studies.
Contrary to the constitution
This leaves little of the initial idea for the law: it had to satisfy left and right by rewarding ‘good’ migrants and punishing ‘bad’ migrants. And questions immediately arise about the rule of law of the proposal approved by parliament. Including the plan to increase the right to social services and the droit au sol seems to be taken directly from the RN’s election manifesto, which has been boycotted for decades because those ideas run counter to the French ideals of liberté, égalité and fraternité.
The government knows it is on thin ice: Minister Darmanin himself acknowledged on Tuesday evening that some measures are “clearly against the constitution”. He tried to calm things down by promising that it would constitutional court will still consider the text of the law. Also emphasized after the vote, he said that his government did not completely bypass parliament this time by invoking the widely used constitutional article 49.3 – which caused a lot of bad blood in the pension reform.
It is very doubtful whether the French, always ready to demonstrate, will be satisfied with these soothing words. And this political rollercoaster also leaves a mess behind within the Macron camp: in the left flank of Macron’s Renaissance party, twenty parliamentarians voted against the law and the question is whether left-wing ministers want to continue after this vote. For example, the critical Minister of Health Aurélien Rousseau has now offered his resignation.
Particularly painful for the government is the jubilation on the (radical) right side of the political spectrum, where the vote is not wrongly seen as a victory. Republican leader Éric Ciotti spoke of a “law of the Republicans”, RN leader Marine Le Pen spoke of one “ideological victory for the Rassemblement National”. That’s how many French people will remember it.
Also read
French government wants to satisfy left and right with new immigration law
Reading list