Top French court scraps controversial immigration bill
France’s Constitutional Council ruled to scrap much of a controversial new immigration bill on January 25th, according to Reuters.
35 of the 80 proposed measures were rejected, including restrictions on access to welfare benefits for migrants, and to citizenship for migrants’ children born in France.
The decision may offer President Emmanuel Macron some relief, with most of the scrapped clauses having been introduced by the country’s right-dominated senate. The far-right National Rally party poses a significant threat to the Macron administration which lacks a working majority in parliament.
READ: Macron perseveres with rejected anti immigrant bill
Interior minister, Gerald Darmanin, welcomed the decision and said it would validate the government’s initial proposals, adding: “Never has a bill included more measures to expel delinquents or introduced stricter requirements for the integration of foreigners.”
Serge Slama, a public law professor at Grenoble-Alpes University, agreed that the ruling works in the government’s favour and would result in little change to migrants’ rights. He stated: “They said as little as they could, while fulfilling their role to make sure procedure is respected.”
The decision immediately sparked criticism from France’s far-right. National Rally’s president, Jordan Bardella, posted on X: “With the support of the President of the Republic himself, the Constitutional Council has censured the tough measures most approved by the French people.”
Those opposed to the immigration bill expressed concern despite the court’s ruling. Parisian teacher Virgile Vaugelade said: “We are a bit relieved but we remained worried – in the initial text there was lots of bad stuff.”
Of the 35 rejected measures, 32 were purely on procedural grounds. The court failed to specify whether the clauses violated the constitution, fueling concern that they could be reintroduced at a later date.
Reuters
