Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin offered to resign after the unexpected defeat, but Macron instead told him to work on new proposals to get an effective immigration law passed.
The law was originally a mixture of measures to deport more undocumented immigrants and measures to improve the conditions of immigrants by improving integration.
But after consideration in the Senate, which is controlled by the conservatives, the focus of the law had shifted strongly in the direction of stricter enforcement. A proposal to reject the law without debate put forward by the Greens received support from both the left and the right of Marine Le Pen.
The law aims to introduce faster processing of asylum applications and the normalization of the situation of undocumented immigrants in sectors with a shortage of labour. But also faster deportation of foreigners who are considered dangerous. It would also make family reunification more difficult and limit the services undocumented people can access.
On Sunday, Macron said that limiting the right to asylum would be a big mistake and that France would continue to grant asylum to people who are under threat in their homeland.
The law, which was rejected by 270 to 265 votes, can now be sent back to the Senate or withdrawn altogether.
2023-12-11 21:58:08
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