The French Parliament has approved a controversial immigration bill aimed at enhancing France's ability to deport foreigners deemed undesirable, sparking heated debate following the far-right's support for the measure. The bill was approved in the National Assembly with a majority of 349 votes to 186 late on Tuesday, having previously been voted on in the Senate.
Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne stated that the bill's text includes "useful and effective provisions that our citizens expected." Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, who defended the bill, explained that the government seeks to see "greater firmness against foreign lawbreakers." He added in a speech to the assembly, "Who here can say that we should allow criminals, people on our soil, to attack us, our teachers, our police forces, and young people in cafes, without taking action?"
The bill still needs to be formally enacted into law. This vote comes after members of the centrist party to which French President Emmanuel Macron belongs and the conservative Republican party reached a compromise to allow the text to pass through a complex legislative process. Macron's government does not hold a majority in parliament.
The conservatives, who pushed for a hardline approach, claimed that the text includes provisions to reduce the number of migrants coming to France by limiting foreigners' access to social benefits. Left-leaning politicians accused centrist lawmakers of passing the law with the support of the far-right. Marine Le Pen, the leader of the far-right National Rally party in the National Assembly, described the legislation as an "ideological victory" for her party.
