Reform of the constitution, quotas, double punishment, European law… This Sunday, the leaders of the Republicans presented a series of shocking proposals, to put “a halt to mass immigration” and restore France its sovereignty. , while the government has, on several occasions, postponed the reforms planned on the subject.
To put pressure on the executive, which must present its text in the fall, two texts will thus be tabled next week in the National Assembly, announced Éric Ciotti, Bruno Retailleau and Olivier Marleix, respectively presidents of the party, and parliamentary groups of Republicans, in an interview with the weekly The Sunday Journal, published this weekend.
The first text goes beyond the simple question of migration and proposes an overhaul of the Constitution, by opening up recourse to a referendum on any subject, whereas until now such a vote was limited to questions concerning the organization of public powers, the whether economic, social, environmental or treaties were concerned.
Also, the Republicans want to include the mention that “no one can take advantage of his origin or his religion to evade the laws of the Republic”, in the Constitution, and remove the primacy of treaties, to facilitate the disobedience of France to the European Union.
The return of the double penalty?
The second text details a hardening of the fight against illegal immigration. With the return of the double penalty: the possibility of convicting and then deporting a foreigner who has committed an offense or crime, abolished in 2003 by Nicolas Sarkozy. And easier deportations for foreigners sentenced to at least one year in prison.
Other ideas: integrating a “presumption of majority” when an unaccompanied minor refuses a bone test, abolishing jus soli in Mayotte, registering a limited number of legal immigrants, through a vote each year at the National Assembly. Or even tighten the conditions for family reunification.
A way of trying to regain control of the subject, while Emmanuel Macron promised in April to “strengthen control of illegal immigration”. “If you sincerely want to change migration policy, you have to vote for this revision of the Constitution. Otherwise nothing will be possible,” said the Sunday newspaper Eric Ciotti.
In April, the Minister of the Interior, Gerald Darmaninsaid he was “sure” of being able to agree on this issue with the Republicans, on a single text, allowing “both respect for the work of foreign people who come to our soil […] and at the same time much more firmness against those who pull in the flank”.