Immigration: after consultations, the government finally wants a bill in July

Europe 1 with AFP / Photo credit: LUDOVIC MARIN / AFP 22:41 p.m., May 09, 2023

Elisabeth Borne asked Tuesday evening the Minister of the Interior Gerald Darmanin to relaunch "consultations" to present "in July" a draft law on immigration in the Council of Ministers, for a parliamentary examination in the fall, announced the entourage of the Prime Minister, confirming information from Le Figaro.

New reversal of the executive

This is yet another U-turn on the part of the executive. The head of government had indeed said on 26th April, when presenting her roadmap for the continuation of the five-year term after the pension crisis, that there was currently "no majority to vote for such a text", which she had therefore postponed the presentation to the autumn. In any case, even with this new boost, a possible reform would not be debated before the autumn. But this allows the government to try to keep the initiative on this explosive subject while on the right, the Republicans have announced their intention to table two bills by the summer.

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During a meeting in Matignon on Tuesday evening, "the Prime Minister asked Gérald Darmanin, in constant contact with Olivier Dussopt and Franck Riester", the Ministers of Labour and Relations with Parliament, "to conduct consultations in the coming weeks to propose a strategy to adopt effective measures that can rally the presidential majority", was explained in the entourage of Elisabeth Borne. "These consultations will last one month. The aim is to present a bill in July for consideration in Parliament in the autumn," it added.

One of the priorities of the "hundred days"

The Minister of the Interior had already presented a text, and its examination was initially scheduled for the end of March in the Senate. But President Emmanuel Macron had first announced his postponement and assured that it would be cut into several texts, before returning to these remarks by pleading for a great law in "a single text", "effective and fair".

>> READ ALSO - After the postponement of the immigration bill, Olivier Véran refutes any "admission of impotence"

In mid-April, in front of his troops gathered at the Elysee, the head of state had even made it one of the priorities of the "hundred days" he decreed to relaunch his five-year term. "If we do not do immigration and work" before July 14, he had hammered according to participants, "it means that we will not do it" at all. But its Prime Minister had recorded the political deadlock in the following days.