Several thousand opponents of the immigration law took to the streets of Paris, Bordeaux, Toulouse, Lille and elsewhere in France on Sunday January 21 to maintain pressure against the promulgation of a text which, according to them, consecrates victory ideological "of the extreme right" before the decision of the Constitutional Council on January 25.

By rallying behind the call initially launched by 201 personalities, the opponents want to bring together beyond the traditional activist sphere to put pressure on the executive, which could quickly promulgate the text voted in mid-December, notably with the votes of the National Rally , except complete censorship and surprise by the Sages.

Also read: The theory of the pull of air, a “myth” at the heart of immigration law

More than 160 marches were planned throughout France.

Between 3,000 and 4,000 demonstrators according to the organizers, marched through the streets of Toulouse on Saturday.

Several hundred people gathered in Metz on Sunday morning.

In Caen, the unions claimed between 1,500 and 2,000 demonstrators on Sunday morning.

In Lille, around 2,000 people marched, led by workers from Emmaüs du Nord communities, who have been on strike for six months to denounce their working conditions and demand their regularization.

“Drifting towards the far right”

In the Parisian demonstration, which started at the beginning of the afternoon from the Place du Trocadéro, a few thousand people were present from the start, with several left-wing leaders. 

Manon Aubry (LFI), Marine Tondelier (Ecologists), Fabien Roussel (PCF) and Olivier Faure (PS) castigated an executive "which opened the drawbridge to the ideas of the extreme right", according to the first secretary of the PS. 

“We wanted to bring together very widely to show that the indignation went beyond activist circles (...) This law is a break with French principles since 1789 for land law and since 1945 for the universality of protection social", declared the general secretary of the CGT, Sophie Binet who called for mobilization with her CFDT counterpart, Marylise Léon. 

In the middle of the signs brandished by the demonstrators, "Immigration an opportunity for France", "France is a fabric of migration", Mady Cissé, 59-year-old Senegalese, temporary worker in the building, appreciates "important support" but "also logic".

"We form one and the same society: without us, the country would not function, it is us who get up at 5 a.m. to go to work in the building, to take out the trash... even the prefectural offices which They refuse us the papers, we are the ones who clean them!”, observes the worker who has a temporary residence permit.

“This law is a drift towards the extreme right, on the political level”, observed the former RPR minister and ex-Defender of Rights Jacques Toubon present in Paris, “and basically towards national preference, which does not is not consistent with our fundamental and constitutional principles."

Place du Trocadéro in Paris, on the human rights square, @BinetSophie @lacgtcommunique @MaryliseLeon @CFDT with Jacques Toubon before the start of the march against the immigration law following the call from @humanite_fr and @ Mediapart 👍 pic.twitter.com/eIPXy1hOKD

— Edwy Plenel (@edwyplenel) January 21, 2024

Controversial text

The authors of the call to demonstrate, including many personalities from the world of culture such as actress Josiane Balasko and author Alice Zeniter, are asking Emmanuel Macron not to promulgate the law.

“It is an unfair and almost illegitimate law! We are in France, there is a tradition of fraternity, of welcome in this country which is flouted! It is scandalous electoralism.”



The appeal of 201 personalities against the immigration law: Bruno Solo and Josiane Balasko in #CàVous pic.twitter.com/Bl1ZJ387Ve

— C to you (@cavousf5) January 16, 2024

In question, the numerous additions by Parliament to the government's initial text, giving a very right-wing color to this law which was initially to be based on two components, one repressive for "delinquent" foreigners, the other promoting integration.

The text now includes many controversial measures, such as tightening access to social benefits, establishing migration quotas, or reinstating the “crime of illegal residence”.

01:36

Questioned on Sunday in the program "Political Questions" broadcast simultaneously on France Inter, FranceinfoTV and Le Monde, the Minister for Gender Equality, Aurore Bergé, denied that the text puts in place "national preference". 

The minister blamed her opponents for the rise of the RN, which is currently leading the polls for future European elections.

“Instilling the idea that we are taking up the theses and themes of the National Rally, there, for sure, we are giving them an ideological victory,” she declared.

With AFP

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