The political debate in France swings these days between two constant centers of gravity that, in reality, are not so unrelated: the economy and immigration. For the first issue, Parliament is already debating the cuts contemplated in the Budget presented last week by the Prime Minister, Michel Barnier. For the second, the most complicated, because it directly confronts the ideological extremes that must keep the fragile Executive alive, the Government has announced that it is already working on a new immigration law that will see the light of day next year, despite the fact that the Minister of Justice, the socialist Didier Migaud, did not seem to be aware. The project, of which there are still few details, contemplates extending the detention period for migrants irregular.
The Executive’s spokesperson, Maud Bregeon, announced the decision in a televised interview. What is surprising, however, is that this comes just a year after the last immigration bill, which faced strong divisions in Parliament and within President Macron’s coalition. The norm marked the definitive break of the President of the Republic with a certain ideological spectrum of the center-left that until then had supported him—it caused the resignation of the Minister of Health, Aurélien Rousseau—and the beginning of the current promiscuity with the extreme right.
The Darmanin law [por Gérald Darmanin, anterior ministro del Interior] It was approved, in fact, with the support of the right and the National Regroupment (RN) and opened one of the biggest crises in the president’s ranks since he came to power in 2017. Then, several prominent deputies of the presidential bloc voted against of the final version of the norm because it was considered too right-wing and several ministers threatened to resign.
The French Constitutional Court annulled 35 articles, especially the most discriminatory measures of the controversial immigration law adopted in December. Among other articles, the so-called wise They declared restrictions on access to social benefits for foreigners contrary to the fundamental law, since these prohibitions could be understood as a form of “national preference,” a historic slogan of the extreme right. The annulled article, which could now be raised again in other terms, required foreigners to have been working in France for two and a half years, or five years if not working, to be able to access some social aid.
In the hands of Le Pen
The restriction of rights contained in that law, however, no longer pleases even the most conservative wing of this Government and, above all, the National Regrouping of Marine Le Pen, on whose votes the continuity of the Executive largely depends. This will reconsider the articles previously rejected by the Constitutional Council to further align the existing norm with the proposals of the right.
The new bill, Bregeon announced, will include measures to extend the detention period for immigrants irregular from 90 days to 210 days. “We are not ruling out other provisions,” he said. “We must adapt to the evolution of security challenges.”
Last Monday, when the news broke, several French media claimed that the Minister of Justice had threatened to resign if said project went ahead. The substantial problem, however, is that France has never managed to address with its laws a concern that has accompanied it since the beginning of the Fifth Republic. In fact, the country has reformed the texts that deal with the migration phenomenon 118 times since 1945. And it has voted for a new law every two years.
Aware that immigration would be a key battlehorse in the following months, Barnier appointed Bruno Retailleau as Minister of the Interior upon his arrival. A tough profile of law and order that as soon as he took office announced severity and greater controls on the French borders. Criticism of her positions, which often clash with those of the Minister of Justice, the only left-wing profile in the Executive, were also rejected by the spokesperson. “Bruno Retailleau, whose mission is to guarantee the safety of the French, will not have to apologize for having ideas.” Bregeon stated that “there should be no taboos” when it comes to protecting the public.
There is no clear data on the obvious tightening that the law will undergo. But the Government also intends to restrict regularization rules, limiting the eligibility of undocumented immigrants with the right to residence, especially in family cases. Also, probably, the social and health services to which they will have access. Health care offered to undocumented immigrants had already been reduced.
Until 1993, in fact, all foreigners had access to the same health coverage as the French, regardless of their status: Social Security if they were affiliated, or medical assistance for the most precarious. In 2020, the Government of Édouard Philippe restricted health coverage for people in an irregular situation, both “to discourage foreigners who would come to France to benefit from the advantageous health system that would constitute the AME (state medical aid)”, and to discourage “medical tourism.” The Darmanin law It planned to go further, making the new “emergency medical aid” conditional on the payment of an annual fee. This modification was censored by the Constitutional Council, and the Government had promised to approve it through regulations.
Despite the parliamentary majority, the Executive spokesperson said the Government will not actively seek the support of Marine Le Pen’s National Rally, whose hardline position on immigration is non-negotiable. Instead, he assured that the Executive will engage with all parliamentary groups to achieve a broad consensus on the new bill. Something impossible if that spectrum includes the New Popular Front, the alliance of left-wing parties that won the elections and that is head-on against this type of measures.