Once again, the question of immigration occupies an important place in the campaign for the early legislative elections of June 30 and July 7. Overview of the proposals put forward by the candidates of the National Rally, the New Popular Front, the presidential camp and the Republicans.
This is one of the themes that most divides the different parties in each election. Six days before the legislative elections, each of the four main political parties in the running is proposing its roadmap for regulating immigration in France.
If the National Rally program promises to “ stop migratory flooding “, the New Popular Front hears, ” guarantee a dignified welcome “. A program accused of being “ totally immigrationist » by the French president Emmanuel Macronof which the camp wishes “ fight against illegal immigration » and tighten the screws on the issue of unaccompanied minors. On the Republican side, in the turmoil since the attempted expulsion of Eric Ciotti, only a profession of faith has been announced, in which appears the wish to “ control uncontrolled immigration “.
The RN, “ drastically reduce legal and illegal immigration »
While the National Rally seems to be backpedaling on some of its social measures, its program does not vary on immigration. On the far-right party’s website, it is even one of the points that appears first, summarized in a guideline: ” Stopping migratory flooding “.
To do this, Jordan Bardella plans to submit to the National Assembly, “ from the first weeks “, a ” emergency law » on immigration, which would include the abolition of land law, he specifies in an interview with Parisian published Monday June 17. Among the parties which risk governing, the RN is the only one which contests the obtaining of French nationality at 18 years of age for children born in France to foreign parents. “The automatic acquisition of French nationality is no longer justified in a world of eight billion individuals, and while the daily trials of our inability to integrate and assimilate multiply on our soil”he explains during the presentation of his official program, this Monday, June 24.
The president of the RN, expected to enter Matignon in the event of success in the legislative elections, also wishes to toughen the conditions for family reunification and replace state medical aid (AME) with a fund which will only cover vital emergencies. “I no longer want France to be a station hall where you can leave your luggage, your culture, your customs, your language, and benefit from rights and the whole range of free care », he said on June 16 on the set of the show “ Dimanche en politique ”, broadcast on France 3.
Read alsoWhat is state medical aid, this system threatened by immigration law?
In order to deport more foreign delinquents and criminals, Jordan Bardella proposes “reestablish the offense of illegal residence”. A promise which will, however, require lifting the “ constraints » which slow down the implementation of the obligations to leave French territory (OQTF), of which only 10% were executed in 2022. To facilitate them, the candidate plans “ increasing the detention period in administrative detention centers, to the maximum of what the European Union authorizes », now limited to 90 days in France. “ I will expel from our land the 4 500 foreign individuals who are listed for their proximity to Islamist fundamentalism », he announced on France 2 on Tuesday June 18.
This “first legislative step” will also include the provisions censored by the Constitutional Council at the start of the year on the immigration bill. This is the case for those linked to family reunification, but also for the establishment of a deposit for foreign students, the issuance of a residence permit for health reasons or even the restriction of social benefits. “ This recovery of migration policy will have to be done during the presidential election through a referendum », he adds during his speech. The objective: to revise the Constitution in order to set these measures in stone and make them “ untouchable by European or international jurisprudence”.
Finally, if the ban on the veil in public spaces is now on the cards until 2027, the MEP proposes on France 2 the vote on a law “ against Islamist ideologies, which will immediately close radical mosques “.
I’m tired of always asking the same people for effort.
We must tackle the taboo of social immigration: the State is too generous with people who come from abroad, who have never worked, and who nevertheless benefit from social benefits. pic.twitter.com/QJIuh4A5AO
— Jordan Bardella (@J_Bardella) June 11, 2024
The New Popular Front, “ guarantee a dignified welcome »
The left first intends to undo the asylum and immigration laws of 2018 and 2023, promulgated under the presidency of Emmanuel Macron, which respectively facilitate deportations to the border and the expulsion of delinquent foreigners. The New Popular Front also calls for the creation of a “ climate displaced status » on the table, as are legal and secure immigration channels and a rescue agency at sea and on land. “ We have a duty of humanity », insists Manon Aubry, head of the list of La France Insoumise in the European elections, on the set of CNews on June 19.
Read alsoLegislative elections in France: the “grand oral” of political parties before employers’ organizations
The left-wing alliance is also trying to improve the reception conditions for exiles, in particular by revising the European asylum immigration pact – which provides for the tightening of controls on migrant arrivals within the European Union – and by putting an end to “ to exceptional measures on the study of the asylum application » as well as “ conditions preventing travel between Mayotte and the rest of the territory » – most residence permits issued on the island only authorize presence in Mayotte, unlike those issued on the rest of French territory.
On land law, the parties promise to guarantee it in full for children born in France as well as to “ facilitate obtaining French nationality “. The New Popular Front also aims to facilitate access to visas, to regularize workers, students and parents of school children, and to establish the ten-year residence permit as a reference residence permit. Finally, the well-stocked immigration section offers “ provide social support and work authorization for asylum seekers », as well as guaranteeing access to state medical aid, often questioned by the right.
When Laurence Ferrari asks exactly the same questions as… Jordan Bardella.
No, immigration is not numbers: it is human lives!
If the refugees 🇺🇦 who were fleeing the war did not fit into your quotas, would you have left them under the bombs? pic.twitter.com/0BJku0lFqB
— Manon Aubry (@ManonAubryFr) June 19, 2024
Together, ” for the values of the Republic »
For its part, the Ensemble presidential coalition, formed by the Renaissance, Democratic Movement, Horizons, UDI and Radical Party parties, wishes to continue the expulsion of “ any delinquent or radicalized foreigner who represents a threat to public order “. Since 2017, 12,000 people have already had to leave French territory, as the presidential camp welcomes in its program unveiled this Thursday.
Despite the controversies aroused by the ban onabaya and qamis at school decided on August 31, 2023, Ensemble makes the fight for secularism in all public services the first point of its component “ Together for the values of the Republic! “. It also includes the packaging of a long-term residence card at “ mastery of French and respect for republican values », under penalty of seeing it withdrawn by a prefect.
Also listenUnaccompanied minors: failure to assist a person in danger?
Although castigated by the left, Renaissance is banking on the European reform of asylum law in order to create detention centers at Europe’s external borders. to examine the situation of migrants before they arrive on our soil “. For the presidential party, on the other hand, there is no question of no longer welcoming “ renowned researchers, doctors, high-potential students, as well as the qualified workers our economic fabric needs “, we read in the program.
In front of ” existential anxiety and the feeling of dispossession », Emmanuel Macron presents the Ensemble list as the golden mean between the two extremes, placed back to back. “ What we are proposing is more firmness, but within the framework of the Republic and its values », Maintains the president during his speech on June 12. Among the measures envisaged, Emmanuel Macron mentions the reduction of illegal immigration towards “ those who view French citizenship as a set of à la carte rights » and better control of foreign minors unaccompanied by an adult, who “ are a security issue » in several cities.
The Republicans, ” control uncontrolled immigration »
Eric Ciotti’s surprise alliance with the National Rally has sowed trouble within the party, which has not yet presented an official program for the legislative elections. A profession of faith published on the Republicans’ X account (formerly Twitter), however, announces the main points: controlling uncontrolled immigration, supporting assimilation and fighting Islamism.
They therefore propose, without detailing further, to reform state medical aid, to condition “ payment of non-contributory social assistance [charges d’enfants, niveau de revenu, maladie, hospitalisation, maternité…] several years of regular residence » and to introduce into the Constitution “ the primacy of the laws of the Republic over religious dogmas “.
In Parliament, the party also pushed the government to toughen the immigration law and hammered home its ambition to introduce a constitutional revision in order to put in place annual migration quotas – including for family reunification – and systematically expel foreigners who present a danger to public order on French territory and processing asylum requests in closed centers.