France: Republicans play a fuzzy card on immigration

The president of the party Les Républicains, Eric Ciotti, on March 14, 2022. AP - Michel Euler

Text by: RFI Follow

2 min

Rebound by seizing the issue of immigration: the Republicans party has launched in recent days an offensive to try to push the government to negotiate a new text, harder, and thus put itself back at the center of the political game, after the repeated blunders on the pension reform. But the proposals of the right are for the moment received with coldness.

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Our text is ready. He is bold and will help the government out of hesitation": these are the words of Eric Ciotti, who has his hand extended to the government. The boss of the Republicans wants to believe that the two texts that his elected representatives will table, proposing in particular an institutional reform validated by referendum, will find a favorable echo, explains Aurélien Devernoix, of the political service of RFI. But nothing is less certain, according to the deputy of the presidential camp, Bruno Millienne:

« It is time for us to sit co-responsibly around the table to talk about real solutions, rather than repeating proposals that are not realistic. Even constitutional change, they will not get it. »

On the side of the other oppositions, we find especially the string a little big. Especially in the National Rally. "It's a pale copy of what we present. When constitutional reform was proposed, they said "this is a coup de force". Now they are taking up the proposal. I think that in LR, they no longer know where they live, "says Philippe Ballard, RN deputy.

But for Eric Ciotti, there is in reality only one valid interlocutor on this subject: "The one who is responsible, I think there is only one: it is the President of the Republic. It is up to him to decide what we want to do. If we stay in words, in slogans, or if we take action. Emmanuel Macron had indicated his desire to see a text on immigration voted before the summer, while the government had previously resolved to postpone the subject until the end of the year.

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• France
• French politics
• Éric Ciotti