The French government's immigration law passed its first stage in the legislative process on Tuesday, after its approval by the Senate. The initial text has little to do with the one that the senators have validated this afternoon, with 210 votes in favor compared to 115 against the left. It has been hardening, especially to please the conservative right of the Republicans, who considered it too lax.

325 of the 341 senators voted. Originally, the law sought to control immigration and improve the integration of foreigners already living on French soil. The reality is that it has been nourished by measures to achieve the first objective and those aimed at the second have been decaffeinated.

The only measure that could satisfy the left, which sought to regularize undocumented immigrants who work in sectors where there is a lack of labor, such as hospitality or construction, has come to almost nothing: it will be the prefects who analyze each case individually, assessing the applicant's integration situation.

Measures have been introduced to make it easier to expel those who commit crimes, removing some of the protections enjoyed, for example, by those who had arrived on French territory under the age of 13. They could not be kicked out and, from now on, it will be possible if they have committed a crime. Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin believes this will make it possible to expel 4,000 criminal foreigners each year.

Asylum applications and family reunification are also complicated. Children who were born in France but to foreign parents will no longer have automatic nationality when they reach the age of majority.

Another of the most criticized measures is the elimination of the state's medical aid system for the undocumented. There will now be emergency medical aid, reserved for serious illnesses, vaccinations and basic care for pregnant women, for example. Its suppression was one of the demands of the right and the extreme right, who denounced the high cost to the State of this mechanism.

The aim of the text is to discourage arrivals on French territory and, at the same time, to be able to expel profiles "who pose a threat to the Republic". The Minister of the Interior does not seem very bothered by the fact that his initial text has been substantially modified and said on Tuesday in the Senate that the text "reaches the Assembly and there is a desire for it to be debated". "Firmness against criminal aliens, but it helps integration," he summed up.

The question now is what will happen to the text in the Assembly, where debate begins in December and where the government does not have a majority. The left wing of the presidential majority has threatened to return the initial spirit of the project, and rewrite it, but in this case it will not have the support of the Republicans. Nor does it count on those on the left, who consider the text to be very restrictive.

  • France
  • Emmanuel Macron