Marine Le Pen scores big win on toughened immigration bill

PARIS ― The allies of far-right leader Marine Le Pen have claimed “an ideological victory” as Emmanuel Macron’s government seeks a compromise with hardline conservatives on a beleaguered immigration bill.

The French president’s centrist coalition in recent days have openly discussed requesting immigrants to work or reside in France for several years before claiming benefits. The proposals echo some of the far right’s long-time obsessions, including the ideas of Jean-Marie Le Pen, the founder of the National Rally party, who campaigned in favor of a “national preference,” which meant excluding foreigners from state benefits and council housing.

While the proposals put forward by Macron’s Renaissance party do not go that far, the National Rally has been jubilant over the government’s decision to take what they claim is a step in their direction.

“All the decisions are moving towards Marine Le Pen’s [2017] presidential manifesto. And at the time, it was a manifesto that caused a so-called republican outcry” among centrists, Jean-Philippe Tanguy, a National Rally MP, told BFMTV on Monday.

“We are talking, even among Macron’s supporters, of national preference, it’s an ideological victory for Marine Le Pen and [National Rally President] Jordan Bardella,” he added.

“I’m delighted to see one of Marine Le Pen’s landmark proposals feature in the draft legislation,” Edwige Diaz, another far-right MP, said Monday, referring to a proposal to suspend access to free medical aid for foreigners.

After a shock defeat of Macron’s flagship immigration bill last week, when it was dismissed by the National Assembly without a debate, the government has tasked a joint committee of senators and MPs with finding a compromise. But the government needs the support of the conservative Les Républicains party, which has become very hardline on immigration, to get their draft legislation through parliament.

Saving the bill

The French government faces a big test on its draft immigration legislation as it seeks to repress a resurgent far right and respond to hardened public opinion on questions of migration and border control. But doubts have swirled about Macron’s ability to govern France after a defeat in parliamentary elections last year cost him his majority in the National Assembly.

On Tuesday, the joint compromise parliamentary committee was discussing requesting non-European immigrants who don’t have a job to wait at least five years before claiming housing and child benefits, and asking foreign students to put down a deposit when they arrive in France.

While some of these measures have been introduced in a number of other countries, including the U.K., they are seen on the left as breaking with France’s sacred universalist principles because they introduce a discrimination on the basis of nationality.

Both the Socialists and the far-left France Unbowed party have slammed the government for caving in to the conservatives and the far right to get a deal on immigration.

Both the Socialists and the far-left France Unbowed party have slammed the government for caving in to the conservatives and the far right to get a deal on immigration | Bertrand Guay/AFP via Getty Images

Macron’s camp is “becoming like Le Pen” and “the National Rally is delighted that one article after another the [centrists] are applying Marine Le Pen’s measures,” far-left MP Danièle Obono told LCP.

They “have crossed all their red lines and now they are crossing the ‘Marine blue’ lines,” quipped Boris Vallaud, president of the Socialist parliamentary group, with reference to the first name of the leader of the National Rally.

Renaissance MPs have argued that the government and opposition forces need to reach an agreement on a topic that is dear to voters. Migration has surged as a topic of concern in France in recent polls.

But if the compromise draft bill that emerges from talks with Les Républicains is too closely aligned with far-right positions on immigration, it risks splitting Macron’s coalition, with left-leaning centrists refusing to vote for a much tougher bill.

The National Assembly is expected to vote on Tuesday if a compromise is found.