Macron camp agrees with Le Pen
Strict migration law passes parliament in Paris
December 20, 2023, 2:20 a.m
Listen to article
This audio version was artificially generated. More info | Send feedback
With the approval of the right-wing populists, the Macron government is pushing a new, stricter migration law through the French parliament. The concessions made to Le Pen in particular are causing great resentment in his own camp.
The French Parliament has approved the controversial new immigration law. In Paris, the Senate and the National Assembly voted one after the other for the legal text drawn up by the Mediation Committee. In addition to the majority of President Emmanuel Macron’s camp, the conservative Republicans and Marine Le Pen’s right-wing populist Rassemblement National party also voted for the compromise bill. The left-wing opposition parties voted against it.
According to the latest compromise, non-European foreigners will only be entitled to housing benefit after five years of residence in France. Exceptions are made for migrants who work, as well as for students and recognized asylum seekers. This point had been particularly controversial until recently. In the predominantly conservative Senate there was a majority of 214 votes to 114. In the National Assembly late in the evening, 349 members voted for the bill and 186 members voted against it.
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin welcomed the adoption of the law. “A long fight to better integrate foreigners and deport those who commit criminal acts,” Darmanin wrote on X. It is a “strong” law. The right-wing populist Le Pen had previously spoken of an “ideological victory” for her party. “Now ‘national preferential treatment’, i.e. the preference given to French people over foreigners for certain social benefits, is finally law.”
Compromise divides Macron camp
Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne had previously promised the right-wing camp a reform of medical care for migrants without the right to stay. The right-wing opposition wanted to replace medical care for migrants with pure emergency aid. The government rejected this, but then promised a revision in early 2024.
Last week, the National Assembly surprisingly rejected a text on the immigration law that had been tightened by the Senate. President Macron then called on the members of the mediation committee to agree on an “intelligent compromise”.
Macron’s original goal was to pass a “balanced” immigration law that would make it easier to deport rejected asylum seekers and promote the integration of working migrants. However, the majority right-wing Senate overturned a central article according to which migrants should be given the right to stay if they work in industries with a shortage of staff. Several MPs from Macron’s ranks voted against the text of the law.