They didn’t expect this boost. This Tuesday, September 12, Les Républicains (LR) deputies meet for their traditional parliamentary days in Saint-Malo. The Breton city is almost as pleasant as reading the daily newspaper Release. 35 parliamentarians from the majority and from the left defend in a forum the maintenance in the immigration bill of a “occupation in tension” residence permit, red rag from a right which denounces a call for air to immigration illegal. “These undocumented workers contribute to the economy and social life of our country. Without them, these sectors and entire sections of our country could not function,” write the elected officials, in an ode to a “humanist and concrete project “.
The left wing of Renaissance in the same photo as Nupes. LR didn’t ask for that much. For months she has struggled to demonstrate the sovereign impotence of the Head of State. So much effort made to demonstrate the difference between the right and Macronism. The offensive of the president of the Law Commission Sacha Houlié is a blessing for LR, who can talk at leisure about the rifts of the majority and its supposed left-wing DNA.
The president of the party Eric Ciotti is ironic about the “improbable” alliance between the former socialist and Nupes. “This forum contributes to the re-establishment of political benchmarks, welcomes the deputy for Lot Aurélien Pradié. The signatories make the regularization of illegal workers a socialist measure.” “A deal between Borne and Nupes would be great,” enthuses an LR deputy.
The right wing of the annoyed macronie
Be careful not to uncork the champagne too soon. An agreement between the government and the left is improbable, as the personality of Gérald Darmanin arouses aversion among her. The executive is still counting on a rallying of the right, by reducing the work aspect of its text to a minimum. Gérald Darmanin did not rule out on Monday going through the “regulatory” route but considered it necessary to include in the law the fact that the request for a residence permit could be at the initiative of the employee alone, confirming information from the Express. This could not be enough. Eric Ciotti recalled this Tuesday that he refused the slightest legislative provision on professions in tension.
LR laughs, the right wing of Renaissance cries. A curious connection: two camps with obvious ideological proximity, driven by opposing interests. The first, who dreams of an autonomous destiny, wants to differentiate himself from Emmanuel Macron. The second, which dreams of drawing a moribund party into the net, dreams of common majorities. The left wing’s initiative is a pebble in his shoe. “The only interest of this immigration law is to show that we are capable of forming a regal anti-RN coalition with the right,” fumes a Renaissance deputy. “To pose the subject of immigration through the prism of regularization in professions in tension is an error, deplores his colleague from Marne Laure Miller. If we wanted to torpedo the project, we would not go about it any other way.”
“Who will the executive sacrifice?”
What to do with this project? In Saint Malo, the right oscillates between demands and threats. The boss of LR deputies Olivier Marleix once again threatened the government with a motion of censure if a “lax” text was adopted by recourse to 49.3. “We are creating a left-wing enemy for right-wing censorship,” alarms someone close to the Minister of the Interior. But this warning – which the right reserves for this text – has limits. It supposes a forceful transfer of power… and the signature of 58 of the 62 LR deputies. In Brittany, Olivier Marleix is careful not to mention this constitutional imperative, a major obstacle to his ambition.
The right pretends to raise its voice. The right wing of Macronie is in despair. The tribune of Release reminds us how much the executive is faced with squaring the circle. A Horizons executive sums it up. “Who will the executive sacrifice? The fragile alliance with LR or the crew of deputies from the left wing, with the risk of a split? In both cases, we lose feathers.” There will be losers: that is the only certainty of this tumultuous immigration bill.