Raquel VillaécijaParis Correspondent
Paris Correspondent
Updated Thursday, January 25, 2024-17:13
The French Constitutional Council has censored a large part of the French immigration law, approved a month ago with much controversy and which was awaiting the verdict of the high council before it could be promulgated.
Specifically, it has considered
more than a third of the measures
contained in the norm to be unconstitutional, including
those most defended by the right of the Republicans
and the
extreme right of Marine Le Pen
, who modified the initial content during the parliamentary debate and voted in favor. Of the same.
This opened
a crack within Macronism
, as the left wing considered the text too harsh, as it
limits social aid and toughens the conditions for family reunification
, among other points.
Both measures, for example, have not made the council cut.
Nor the creation of a crime of "irregular residence" for those 'without papers'.
The presidential majority counted on the council to censor the harshest part of the text.
The council of wise men has assessed that there are
some articles that do not comply with the Magna Carta
.
Emmanuel Macron himself, after the approval of the law in the Assembly, warned that the high council would be in charge of tweaking the text.
The question was how far he would go.
There have been
35 articles out of a total of 86
.
Point for the president.
The president of National Rally, Jordan Bardella, has denounced a coup by the council.
This party claimed an "ideological victory" when the law was approved.
The Council was under pressure: the presidential majority expected tweaks, unlike the right.
The
president
achieves a
masterstroke
: that
his law goes ahead thanks to the support of the extreme right
but, after the council's verdict, it now
devoid of that harsher content
that made them vote for it.
The Government does not have a majority in the Assembly and has had to juggle to obtain support.
The controversial measures
After the verdict, Macron will be able to promulgate it, now without the censored points.
This is the
second most important reform of his second term
, after the controversial
pension law
.
The council has censured some of the most criticized measures.
This is the case of the measure that requires students
from outside the EU
who want to study in France to deposit a
deposit
.
This measure is considered to violate the principle of equality and Macron himself had criticized it.
The creation of a crime for undocumented immigrants
, the
restriction of some aid for foreigners
or the article that allowed Parliament to establish
immigration quotas every three years
, limiting the number of residence permits granted, have also
been censored.
Also the measure that conditioned
social aid to foreigners
to a stay of at
least five years in the country
.
The Constitutional Council is the highest body in charge of analyzing whether the laws comply with the Constitution.
It is made up of nine members, including renowned jurists and some former politicians, such as the two former prime ministers Alain Juppé and Laurent Fabius.
It was resorted to last year, after the approval of the pension reform, which a large part of the country opposed and which left months of mobilizations.
The original immigration project sought to please both the right and the left.
The procedure was very rushed because the Government does not have a majority in the Assembly and, during the debate process, it was retouched by the right and the content that balanced the text was decaffeinated.
During its passage through the Senate, it hardened and the Assembly refused to debate the text.
A
mixed commission had to be used to prepare a draft
that was finally approved in the Assembly,
in extremis
, with the vote of the extreme right and the opposition of the left and many Macronist deputies.