Clément Beaune does not disarm. There are still battles to be fought” on the highly contested immigration law, believes the Minister of Transport, having resigned from the government for a while for his disagreements on this text and while rumors of a reshuffle are coming back with insistence.
“Do I think that after having exchanged a lot with the Prime Minister, we have moved the text in the right direction? Yes. Is it over? No, there are still battles to be fought . Do I want to participate? Yes,” says the minister representing the left wing of Macronie, in an interview at Parisian posted online Wednesday January 3 in the evening.
Clément Beaune, who had organized a dinner with other ministers who disagreed on the text on the evening of the vote, considers that “we will have to return to the principle of the student deposit”, “revisit the measure on personalized housing assistance (APL)” and “avoid any new debate on State Medical Aid” for undocumented foreigners.
“Preserving the legacy of 2017”
He admits that within the majority there are “sensitivities, different histories and complicated debates”. “But after a difficult fight, my temperament is to get back into the ring. And I want to get back into the ring.” And to plead in favor of “overcoming” the right and the left while the text on immigration was voted with the support of the right and the extreme right, which divided the majority. But, in the end, only the Minister of Health Aurélien Rousseau resigned after the vote on the text.
“We must preserve the legacy of 2017: overcoming, the European fight and the fight against the far right. Without forgetting societal progress, such as the end of life,” believes Clément Beaune.
Despite the vote of the National Rally in favor of this law, he assures that “the divide between us, the pro-Europeans, and the nationalists – who were for leaving the euro, against the European vaccine, in support of Mr. Putin – exists more than ever.” On a possible reshuffle, he recalls that “to be in a government, you must first be offered it. And then, you must be useful”. “As long as these conditions are met, I will be happy to serve.”