On Tuesday, the French parliament approved an immigration bill that was supported by President Emmanuel Macron’s administration. Prior to this, Macron had to deal with a significant uprising within his own party due to the far right’s support for the more restrictive laws.
The measure was ultimately approved by the lower house with a resounding majority, meaning that the ruling party did not require the backing of Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) in order to pass the legislation.
The immigration laws have been tightened even further since the bill was first introduced thanks to a number of modifications, and the left is accusing the government of giving in to pressure from the extreme right.
Le Pen supported the amended measure, but some of Macron’s left-wing supporters and allies said they could no longer support it. Some ministers even reportedly threatened to quit.
“We can rejoice in ideological progress, an ideological victory even for the National Rally, since this is now enshrined into law as a national priority,” said Le Pen, a three-time presidential candidate who leads the RN’s lawmakers in parliament and is widely expected to stand again for president in 2027.
The RN had earlier declared that it would either abstain or vote against the bill. Her unexpected action was branded a “kiss of death” for Macron’s party by the French media.
In a stunning setback for Macron, the plan was voted down last week in the National Assembly without even a debate.
The measure was already passed by the Senate of the upper house and passed the lower house with 349 votes in favor and 186 votes against.
One of the main provisions of the bill is that foreigners will only be eligible for social security payments after five years of residency in France, or thirty months if they are employed.
There are currently mechanisms for the removal of French nationality from dual-national prisoners, as well as the ability to agree on migration quotas.
Renowned left-wing Renaissance MP Sacha Houlie had declared he would vote against the bill and urged others to do the same; according to some accounts, some thirty MPs who supported Macron would back him.
Prior to the vote, Macron held a meeting of his ruling party at the Elysee palace, indicating the gravity of the situation, party sources told AFP.
A meeting participant reported that Macron stated that if the law was only passed with the support of Le Pen’s RN votes, he would not promulgate it but rather submit it to a new reading.
At their meeting with Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, Ministers of Housing, Higher Education, and Health Aurelien Rousseau and Patrice Vergriete warned each other they would step down, according to sources who spoke to AFP.
“The majority has stood together, the far right’s plan has failed,” Borne said on social media platform X after the vote.
A cabinet source confirmed a story by the daily Le Figaro that Rousseau handed Borne his resignation letter on Tuesday night. Borne did not respond to the letter, however.
The 41-year-old, highly ambitious Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, who has led the legislation, had warned Le Pen on Sunday that if the bill is not passed, she could lose the 2027 presidential race.
The possibility of the measure passing had horrified the left and hard-left, with Boris Vallaud, the leader of the socialist parliamentarians in the National Assembly, denouncing it as a “great moment of dishonour for the government.”
Enacting the law was essential for Macron, who faces being viewed as a lame duck with over three years remaining in office if he is unable to run again in 2027 after serving two consecutive terms.
After his reelection in 2022, there have been no parliamentary elections and the government has not held a majority in parliament.