French Assembly knocks down Macron administration's migration reform

Emmanuel Macron’s government faced a significant setback in the National Assembly as opposition parties, uniting against it, successfully blocked a long-anticipated immigration reform on December 11 from even being discussed.

As reported by France 24, lawmakers with differing political affiliations joined forces and employed a last-minute parliamentary tactic to thwart the draft law just as its two-week examination was set to commence.

Initially introduced by Macron’s centrist government, the bill included measures to increase the expulsion of undocumented individuals and enhance migrants’ integration. However, as it progressed through the Senate, controlled by the right, the legislation leaned more towards enforcement.

Interior minister Gérald Darmanin, who has spent months trying to rally enough votes from the conservative Les Republicains, faced a setback as the motion to dismiss the draft law and halt the planned debate passed by 270 to 265 votes. He offered his resignation following the failure of the bill to advance. 

Despite the defeat, President Macron rejected Darmanin’s offer to resign, instructing him to find alternative ways to break the deadlock and push the legislation through. Prior to the vote, Darmanin argued that the government's proposal was necessary and fair, emphasizing the importance of debating a topic that the French public viewed as a national priority.

Darmanin, defending the bill at the National Assembly, highlighted its provisions that restrict migrants' ability to bring family members into France, birthright citizenship, and welfare benefits.

The motion's success was achieved through a coalition of opposition parties, with Marine Le Pen’s far-right and the opposing it due to concerns that the proposal was too lenient and could encourage illegal immigration, while left-wing parties rejected it for being overly harsh.