In an attempt to reach a consensus on a contentious plan that would strengthen France’s immigration regulations, a group of parliamentarians from France met.
The event brought attention to the challenges facing President Emmanuel Macron in leading the nation without a majority in parliament.
The government had stated that this legislation would be a “carrot and stick” approach, making it simpler for immigrants working in labor-intensive industries to obtain a residency card while simultaneously making it simpler to remove illegal immigrants from the country.
But since the June 2022 elections, the government has been without a majority in the lower house of parliament. Consequently, in an effort to win over the right, it has gradually agreed to soften policies that were intended to grant residency permits to certain migrants while tightening access to welfare, among other things.
The far-right Rassemblement National (National Rally) legislator Jordan Bardella, an EU member, claimed that the toughening of immigration regulations was “an ideological victory” for his party, a description of the negotiations that lawmakers in Macron’s camp disagreed with.
Meanwhile, some lawmakers said the special committee meeting was already heading towards an agreement.
Report says that even if there is agreement during the special committee meeting, it remains to be seen whether the left wing of Macron’s own majority, which has expressed unease over some of the bill’s more conservative aspects, will approve the compromise in votes in the two houses of parliament later on today.
Coming just six months before the European parliament elections, successful passage of the bill in parliament would be a welcome boost for Macron.
He has struggled to contain a resurgent far right, which has put the fight against immigration at the top of its agenda.
