The Constitutional Council’s decision shows that majority of contentious immigration bill was rejected by top French court introducing quotas set by parliament and tightening access to social benefits and family reunification.
It criticized controversial modifications in response to the right and the far-right pressure. Still, it backed most of the bills that President Emmanuel Macron’s administration had proposed.
Those policies that restricted immigrants’ access to social welfare and made it more difficult for them to bring their families to France were among the ones that were rejected. The bill also makes it easier for France to deport foreign nationals who are deemed undesirable.
How The Contentious Immigration Bill Was Rejected By Top French Court
Gerard Darmanin, the interior minister, praised the decision. He formally tweeted on X, “The Constitutional Council has approved all the government’s text.” However, the far-right National Rally party’s head, Jordan Bardella, denounced what he claimed to be a “coup by the judges, with the backing of the president.”
As the “only solution,” he demanded an immigration vote. The most radical revisions may still be approved later on as part of new legislation, even though the court rejected them. Before the decision, groups that saw the law as being against French principles and a gift to the extreme right, who are becoming more and more powerful, demonstrated in front of the Constitutional Council in central Paris, located across from the Louvre Museum.
Special security precautions were put in place by Paris police for the day, and more protests were scheduled.
In an attempt to pass the measure through parliament, the protesters charged that the government had given in to pressure from Marine Le Pen’s extreme right-wing National Rally party. On Sunday, over 75,000 people demonstrated against the bill throughout France, calling on Macron to veto it.
The conflict arises amid immigration-related tensions throughout Europe and the rise in popularity of far-right anti-immigration parties ahead of the June elections for the European Parliament.
It questioned the controversial modifications introduced in response to pressure from the far right and political right. Still, it backed most of the measures President Emmanuel Macron’s administration first submitted.
The measure contains provisions that invalidate automatic birthright citizenship, facilitate the deportation of non-French nationals, impose barriers to family reunification, and postpone migrants’ access to welfare benefits.
“The censorship of numerous articles added to Parliament for non-compliance with the parliamentary procedure is something that the Government takes note of, as I was able to indicate during the debates,” Darmanin wrote in French.
The controversial immigration measure has to have more than a third of its clauses removed, according to France’s Constitutional Council.
The council rejected the bill’s provisions calling for the creation of quotas determined by parliament, family reunions, and stricter access to social assistance on Thursday. This organization certifies the constitutionality of laws.
The administration will “carry an indelible stain” for having compromised with the right and far-right, according to socialist MP Olivier Faure. In contrast, human rights organisation Amnesty International hailed Thursday’s partial rejection of the law as a “victory” for immigrants.
