Migration law in France: Macron’s breaking of taboos

French President Macron has had to make massive concessions to the right regarding the stricter migration law. This shows how limited his scope has become. Of all people, the one that Macron actually wanted to stop is benefiting from this.

The president went on prime-time television – once again. The French media were more united that day than ever before and had unanimously headlined: “Government crisis”. The stricter immigration law passed the day before is dividing the republic and is more controversial than almost any other law.

Emmanuel Macron had – once again – to defend his politics and his leadership style: the new law was “absolutely necessary” and to “protect the French,” he explained in the evening. But the president is paying a high price for it.

Negotiations until late at night

This was preceded by an unprecedented voting thriller in the Assemblée Nationale. TV channels reported live. The law stood in jeopardy until the very end. Since the election, Macron no longer has a sufficient majority in parliament and support within his own ranks is crumbling.

In a stormy, heated night meeting, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin tried to justify the controversial project one last time. Shortly before midnight the decision was made: 349 votes for, 186 votes against. A quarter of Macronists refused to give their consent.

The law was thus passed – with the votes of Marine Le Pen’s right-wing extremist Rassemblement National. A taboo break, a paradigm shift. Macron, who owed his double election victory in no small part to his promise to stand up to right-wing extremism and nationalism, is going home with the votes of those he promised to fight.

Macron’s plan looked different

The migration law was considered the most important project of his second term in office. His original plan was to both ease and tighten immigration rules and thus pursue left and right politics at the same time. “En même temps” is this credo of simultaneity.

In the case of the immigration law, this meant: relief for migrants in work, faster deportations for rejected asylum seekers and criminals.

With this dual strategy, he wanted to woo both the left-wing and the right-wing opposition in parliament, on whose votes he depends.

failure and change of direction

But the strategy didn’t work: the left brusquely rejected the draft law, the right-wing Républicains set extremely tough conditions.

Macron swung towards the right. Painful negotiations followed, the former Gaullists made new demands and the draft law became more and more strict. There was no longer any talk of relief.

At the same time, there was rumbling in Macron’s camp. Marine Le Pen watched calmly from the sidelines. Finally, a compromise was reached in the Mediation Committee. The result is that EU foreigners will have more difficult access to social benefits, that there will be no easier right to stay for working migrants and that family reunification will be made more difficult. The aim is to deter migrants as much as possible from coming to France.

Le Pen triumphs

“An ideological victory for the Rassemblement National,” triumphed party leader Le Pen, because it was clear: “French people are given preference over foreigners,” and her party would vote for the government’s bill without hesitation. And that’s how it happened.

Macron has thus pushed through the most important government project of his second term in office with the votes of the right and the far right. 32 departments have already announced that they will not implement the law, the unions are mobilizing, and one minister resigned.

Paving the way for Le Pen?

Macron, who once ran as a liberal reformer with support from the left, has shifted the French Republic to the right. He hopes to be able to prevent Le Pen from becoming the next president. In fact, she is steadily increasing in all surveys and was recently in first place among all applicants.

During his TV appearance, Macron assured that he would push ahead with important reforms in his remaining three and a half years in office. But his scope is limited.

His policy of “en même temps” has failed. He lost the left. If at all, he can only pass laws and govern together with the right. It cannot be ruled out that the former hope of French politics will become a pioneer for President Le Pen.