French Parliament to Vote on Controversial Immigration Bill

Sudan Events – Sumaya Sayed

The French lower house of parliament was set on Monday to begin debating a bill seeking to tighten immigration rules criticised by both the far-right and hard-left in a major test for the government of President Emmanuel Macron.

Originally proposed by Macron’s centrist government with a mix of steps to expel more undocumented people and improve integration, the text now leans firmly towards enforcement after its passage through the Senate, which is controlled by the right.

Speaking during a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on Sunday, Macron said that forgetting about the right of asylum would be a mistake.

“France retains its long tradition of providing asylum for all those whose rights are threatened in their own country, and we will continue to defend this right of asylum,” he said.

“To think that we can solve our contemporary problems by forgetting these rights, which are the very foundation of our Republic in France, but also of the very identity of our Europe, would be not just a political mistake, but a moral one.”