PARIS: French parliamentarians on Tuesday gave their final approval to a bill that toughens rules for immigrants on Tuesday, giving a policy victory to President Emmanuel Macron.
The bill, after reaching a compromise between the conservative opposition and Macron’s party demonstrates shift in politics in much of Europe on immigration laws.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin after the vote in the lower house said strict measures are inevitable. He expressed relief on passing of the bill.
The French government had initially said the legislation would make it easier for migrants to get a residency permit but would also make it easier to expel migrants illegally residing in France.
The government in an attempt to get the support from the right-wing parties agreed to soften the residency permits measures. It also delayed migrants’ access to welfare benefits for children and housing allowances.
The France has long prided one of the most generous welfare systems in the world.
The far-right lawmakers have argued that these welfare benefits should be reserved for French people only. The deal would delay access for unemployed non-EU migrants to housing benefits by five years.
Harder for immigrants’ children to become French citizens
Under the new law it would be harder for immigrants’ children to become French citizens, while the dual nationals convicted for serious crimes against the police could lose French citizenship.
The deal carved by a special committee of seven senators and seven deputies and later approved by both houses, is good news for Macron, whose government introduced the migration bill.
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It is pertinent to mention that one of the most vocal representatives of Macron’s left wing in parliament, Sacha Houlie, voted against the bill.
Overall, 20 lawmakers from Macron’s Renaissance party voted against the bill, while 17 abstained and 131 voted for the bill.
