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.