The French government has said it will press ahead with a planned immigration law in the face of a political crisis after opposition parties from the left to the far right refused to even debate it in parliament.
President Emmanuel Macron and the centrist government were stunned by a humiliating defeat on Monday – the first time in 25 years that a government bill has been rejected before even being debated in parliament.
The immigration bill was designed to show that Macron could take tough action on migration while keeping France’s doors open to foreign workers who can help the economy. But its contents have been rewritten several times, first toughened up by the right-wing dominated Senate, then partially watered down by a parliamentary commission, leading to confusion and fierce opposition.
After crisis meetings on Tuesday, the government decided to send the bill back to a parliamentary committee of seven senators and seven deputies to hammer out a compromise text to break the deadlock. The political crisis threatened to weaken the government, whose centrists lack a majority in parliament and who nine months ago pushed through controversial changes to the retirement age without a parliamentary vote and amid street protests.
The bill’s tougher provisions, disliked by left-wing lawmakers and rights groups, include making it easier to expel people who have settled in France but “do not respect the values of the Republic”, including those convicted of certain crimes. The bill also lowers the age at which foreigners can be expelled. It includes tougher conditions for family reunification, setting requirements for health insurance and a regular income.
The bill would also set ‘targets’ for immigration, which some on the left criticised as introducing a form of quota that would fix the number of people entering France.
The more liberal aspects of the immigration bill, including the regularisation of undocumented workers in sectors with labour shortages, such as construction, health and care, and hotels and restaurants, have been criticised by conservatives and the far right.
In an unprecedented move, opposition parties as diverse as the Greens, the left-wing France Insoumise, the traditional right-wing Les Républicains and Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally all voted on Monday evening to reject the bill before it could be debated.
A parliamentary committee will start work “as soon as possible” on a compromise text, government spokesman Olivier Véran said. This could result in the bill being further tightened along right-wing lines. It still faces the difficulty of passing a vote when it returns to the lower house of parliament.
A government source said Macron had denounced the “cynicism” of opposition members at a cabinet meeting, accusing them of trying to “obstruct the country”.
He was quoted as saying: “We need a law on integration and immigration”.
The rejection of the bill is deeply frustrating for Macron, who French media and political critics have been quick to warn could become a potential lame duck if his government fails to pass major legislation in the more than three years left of his second term. Constitutional rules prevent Macron from running for a third term in 2027.
The immigration row has also called into question Macron’s approach to tactical politics, once seen as a form of pragmatism: walking a pro-business line and fusing centrist ideas from the left and right. He is now seen as tacking to the right to try to win the cooperation of the right-wing Les Républicains party, while struggling to keep the left of his own centrist party on board.
Amid shouts and jeers in parliament on Tuesday afternoon, Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne said the government would “not give up on introducing strong measures” on immigration. She said the bill would “simplify” French procedures and toughen sanctions against human traffickers.
“We need these measures, our fellow citizens expect them,” she said. “We are looking for compromises.” She backed Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, who had offered to resign after the chaos surrounding the bill in parliament, but who Macron said should stay in his job.
The proposed immigration law was partly designed as a response to the rise of the anti-immigrant far right in France, but critics warn that the controversy surrounding it could end up strengthening it. It is the second immigration law since Macron became president in 2017, and the left-wing opposition has criticised him for focusing on immigration when polls show French voters have bigger concerns, including making ends meet, education and healthcare. Le Monde calculated that the French parliament has voted on a new immigration law on average every two years since 1945.
Le Pen’s National Rally, the largest single opposition party in parliament, is trying to take advantage of the government’s crisis. Its leader, Jordan Bardella, called for legislative elections on Tuesday, saying his party would increase its vote. But the government has ruled out elections.
Bardella said: “We have our own immigration bill, it’s written, it’s ready and it’s a thousand times tougher than the one the government is proposing. We have a thousand and one measures that would restore security to the French people and give them back the fruits of their labour”.
