French Constitutional Council strongly condemns controversial immigration law

The French Constitutional Council has censored a large part of the French immigration law, which was approved with much controversy a month ago and which awaits a decision of the Higher Council before coming into force. In particular, it is More than a third of the measures were canceled What is included in the standard Most defensive of Republicans And this Marine Le Pen’s far rightWho revised the initial material and voted in favor of it during the parliamentary debate.

it opened A rift within MacronismBecause most leftists considered the text too harsh, among other things limited access to social assistance to foreigners and tightened the conditions for family reunification, Both measures did not make the council cutoff. Nor does it create a crime for foreigners living irregularly in France.

The presidential majority relied on the Council to censor the most stringent parts of the text. The Council of Wise Persons has assessed that many of these articles have nothing to do with the content of the law and have been repealed for procedural reasons. Other, Because they do not comply with Magna Carta,

After the law was approved in the Assembly, Emmanuel Macron himself warned that it would be the responsibility of the Higher Council to make changes to the text that he himself had promoted. The question was how far he would go. Stayed about 30 Articles out of total 86,

He chairman get one master play: He Their legislation moves forward, but is reformed thanks to support from the extreme right, And now, following the Council’s decision, it remains empty of that hard stuff Which forced even the Republican and Le Pen ranks to vote for him. The government does not have majority in the assembly and is having to struggle to gain support.

The head of state urged this Thursday that the necessary steps be taken so that it can be implemented “as soon as possible”. The Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, was pleased that “the Council has validated the government’s preliminary text” and said it would be promulgated in the coming hours.

National Regrouping’s president, Jordan Bardella, has condemned abuses of power by judges. This party, led by Marine Le Pen, Claimed “ideological victory” When the law was approved, it was considered to have achieved its purpose: to protect the social security provided by the country, or to limit access to it.

Controversial measures

it is The second most important reform of his second termafter the dispute pension law, After much controversy and even after passing the constitutional filter, it was approved.

In this case, the Council has condemned some of the most criticized measures. like the one who forced Non-EU students to pay one Bail, creating a crime for those who are in irregular statusThe article that gave permission to establish immigration fee or one to which access is conditioned social assistance for foreigners up to minimum stay five years in the country,

Most of the measures were introduced by Los Republicans during parliamentary debate, and were a condition of their supporting the law. In recent weeks, thousands of people have taken to the streets across the country demanding that it not be implemented.

The Constitutional Council is the supreme body responsible for analyzing whether laws comply with the Constitution or not. It is composed of nine members, including renowned jurists and some former politicians, such as two former prime ministers, Alain Juppé and Laurent Fabius. This was resorted to after pension reforms were approved last year, which were opposed by a large section of the country and led to months of mobilization.

The original project on immigration was more neutral, and tried to appease right and left, but the processing was done very hastily, as the government does not have a majority in the Assembly. During the parliamentary debate, the most conservative right (Republicans), which has more weight in the Senate, tightened it and weakened the balancing elements of the text. It was necessary to resort to Mixed commission to prepare a draft Which was eventually approved in the Assembly over the opposition of the extreme right and left and the votes of many Macronist deputies.