This Monday, December 11, the French National Assembly debates whether or not to veto an immigration bill proposed by Emmanuel Macron's Executive. The bill has been criticized by the left, who consider that it violates the DD. H H. of migrants, as well as on the right, which considers it not strict. If blocked, it would be a serious blow to the president's second term.
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After months of discussions, this Monday The controversial immigration bill reached the French National Assembly, where it must be debated. However, it is possible that left-wing and right-wing opposition groups will join together in a vote to reverse what is unot one of the star projects of this second term of the president of France, Emmanuel Macron.
“It would be a denial of democracy,” stressed the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, in an interview with the radio station 'Europe 1' regarding the hypothetical alliance of the opposition.
Darmanin has repeatedly defended this text, intended – according to the politician – to facilitate the expulsion “of those who do not have good behavior” and the integration “of those who do.”
“Do we want to return criminal foreigners to their countries of origin? If the immigration bill is adopted, it will be possible to return an additional 4,000 foreign criminals each year. A great step forward to protect our fellow citizens,” the official noted through social networks in a position criticized by human rights defense groups. H H. of migrants.
Est-ce qu'on souhaite renvoyer dans leur countries d'origine les étrangers délinquants? The immigration project permits, if it is adopted, to renvoyer 4000 étrangers délinquants supplémentaires chaque année. A majeure advance to protect our concitoyens. pic.twitter.com/ni2JOPRxVA
— Gérald DARMANIN (@GDarmanin) December 11, 2023
The environmentalists, as a block with the left, reject the text and accuse it of attempting to facilitate and accelerate the expulsions of irregular migrantswhich is why they have presented the motion for rejection.
If the left and the right united around this motion, it could be adopted and immediately interrupt the consideration of the bill and all its amendments – more than 2,600 –, scheduled to be discussed for two weeks.
The discussions should then continue on the basis of the text of the Senate, controlled by the right, which proposes a much more restrictive text than that of the current commission.
“There are arguments for and against. The 'against' argument is that we obviously want to debate Mr. Darmanin's contradictions,” summarized far-right leader Marine Le Pen on Sunday.
During a ceremony to mark the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on Sunday, President Macron defended the proposed law.
“France retains its long tradition of offering asylum to all those whose rights are threatened in their own country, and we will continue to defend this right of asylum,” he said of the new law.
Fears of further stigmatization
But many citizens do not see it favorably. With this new law – or an even harsher one from the right – undocumented migrants fear that the reform will stigmatize them even more.
The bill contemplates facilitating the expulsion of foreigners considered dangerous, regularizing the situation of undocumented workers in sectors with labor shortages, and accelerating asylum application procedures.
In addition, it would introduce an annual quota for migrant arrivals and eliminate all medical coverage for undocumented people, except for emergency ones.
“The majority of undocumented migrants pay social security and taxes without benefiting from services such as the public health service (…) Emmanuel Macron's Government treats us as if we were nothing, but we do the dirty tasks, in places construction, working in restaurants and as cleaners,” says Ahmada Siby, originally from Mali who lives in France, to the middle 'Deutsche Welle'.
For this reason, dozens of people came out to demonstrate in front of the National Assembly at the beginning of the debate. Like some human rights advocacy organizations. HR, many citizens ask that the rights and dignity of migrants be respected, both those who are documented and those who are not.
Critics of the law also charge that it can encourage hate speech and stigmatization. against migrants, since it more easily allows the expulsion of foreigners who have committed crimes.
The law even contemplates expelling migrants who arrived in France before the age of 13, as was the case of the alleged Russian-born Islamist militant who killed Dominique Bernard, a teacher from the town of Arras last October.
With AFP and EFE
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