France's lower house of parliament on Tuesday, December 19, passed a government bill tightening immigration rules, despite a rebellion within the ranks of President Emmanuel Macron's governing party after it was backed by the far right.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told reporters that the "strong text" had been adopted with a sufficiently large majority of 349 for and 186 against and that the far-right votes in favor were not needed for it to pass. The upper-house Sénat had earlier also passed the legislation.
Darmanin, the ambitious 41-year-old who has spearheaded the legislation, had warned on Sunday that Le Pen risked winning the 2027 presidential election if the bill is not passed. Passing the legislation is also critical for Macron who cannot stand again in 2027 after two consecutive terms and is extremely wary of being seen as a lame duck with more than three years left of his final mandate.
Members of the right-wing and left-wing opposition last week joined forces to vote down the draft without even debating the measures – the government does not have a majority in parliament following 2022 elections. The government has over the last year frequently used constitutional powers to pass legislation without a vote as it did with contested pension reforms. But this could also trigger a confidence motion that it could lose.
Dozens of NGOS slammed what they described as potentially the "most regressive" immigration law in decades. It is "the most regressive bill of the past 40 years for the rights and living conditions of foreigners, including those who have long been in France," around 50 groups including the French Human Rights League said in a joint statement.
A key element is now that social security benefits for foreigners be conditional on five years of presence in France or 30 months for those who work. Migration quotas can also now be agreed and there are also measures for dual-national convicts being stripped of French nationality.
France's immigrant population is estimated at 5.1 million, or 7.6% of the population. Authorities believe there are between 600,000 to 700,000 undocumented immigrants in the country.