France's controversial immigration laws have been halted

It is 37 of the 86 articles in the legal package that have now been rejected by the nine “wise men” of the Constitutional Council, the body in France that has the final say on matters relating to the constitution. . 32 of the failed articles are considered inconsistent with existing laws.

Among them are writings on stricter rules for family reunification, stricter support requirements for foreign students, stricter rules for minors seeking citizenship, and a new rule that would make foreign immigrants with residence permits have to wait five (or three) years. In cases where they have a full-time job) before they can receive housing allowance and other government support.

That last one The fall of Al Qaeda is of particular importance. Marine Le Pen and her right-wing National Rally party celebrated its passage last December as a breakthrough in their ideas that French citizens should be given “priority” over immigrants with residence permits – while the left-wing opposition sounded the alarm about discrimination.

The Constitutional Council also suspends a law on the introduction of immigration quotas, as Parliament would have set a maximum number of residence permits over a period of three years.

To the Minister of Interior Gerald Darmanin, the decision of the Constitutional Council is a source of relief. Because even though he was responsible for negotiating the package last fall, the parts now rejected were actually concessions to the right-wing opposition. The government does not have a majority of its own in Parliament, so it considered itself obligated to cooperate with the right-wing Republican Party – which is considered very close to the National Assembly on immigration policy.

In this way, Darmanin got through the parts he wanted — including the write-up that would supposedly enable undocumented people to obtain a residence permit if they work in the shortage force — while Republicans got slapped on the finger by the government. Constitutional Council.

Republican Party Leader Eric Ciotti was unexpectedly critical of the ruling, calling it driven by “politics, not law.” He writes on social media that he wants to see “a constitutional amendment to secure the future of the French.” Even Marine Le Pen's crown prince, Jordan Bardella, strongly criticized the Constitutional Council's decision, which he described as a “coup by the judges, with the support of the president.”

However, human rights group Amnesty International, which strongly criticized the legal package, called the outcome a “victory.”

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