An agreement on the horizon? The executive convened a joint committee (CMP) on Monday, December 18, a week after the adoption of a rejection motion in the National Assembly against the immigration bill. To obtain a green light on the text, Emmanuel Macron’s majority must turn a blind eye to the right, which is keen on the toughened version adopted by the Senate. Behind the thorny subject of immigration, it is the credibility of the executive which is at stake. For him, the path is narrow and the outcome perilous. “There is no political crisis today. There is a debate within the National Assembly and the Senate”, tried to reassure Eric Woerh, Renaissance MP and one time minister of Nicolas Sarkozy, on CNews this Sunday, December 17.
Since Wednesday, intense negotiations have taken place between the executive and the right. And they continue this Sunday since Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne receives elected officials from the Les Républicains party in the afternoon. The copy adopted in the Senate in mid-November serves as a basis for discussions. “It is therefore this text and this alone that we want to vote for,” reaffirmed the boss of the Republicans (LR) Éric Ciotti. In the media, the seduction operation is launched. The macronie has increased its outstretched hands in recent days to try to break the deadlock. With success ? According to various sources consulted by Franceinfothe Republicans would have dropped certain points, such as the elimination of state medical aid.
Towards common ground with the right?
Among the senators’ wishes: require foreigners to have to prove five years of residence to be able to benefit from allowances such as personalized housing assistance (APL) or family allowances, compared to six months currently. One option would be to increase this duration to three years for those who work. Other flammable subjects: the loss of nationality for the murderers of police officers – the government could give in, according to the AFP; or the ban on locking up minors in administrative detention centers (CRA) – the right could accept this, the press agency further notes.
Concerning another emblematic article, that relating to the regularization of certain undocumented workers in professions in shortage, “there is no reason for us to modify it”, said Hervé Marseille, the leader of the centrist senators. The government would have let go, by agreeing to leave these regularizations to the discretionary power of the prefects. “There is also an effort to be made on our side”, that of the Macronist camp, recognized Astrid Panosyan-Bouvet, Renaissance MP for Paris, on Franceinfo this Sunday. But are Republicans trustworthy? The President of the National Assembly, Yaël Braun-Pivet, judges “power [leur] “For 18 months, they have been in a constructive approach,” she said on BFMTV.
“No one slammed the door”
This Sunday, the president of Modem François Bayrou also expressed the desire that “the balance of the text be preserved”. The mayor of Pau confided that he was divided on this text. If he agrees with the forfeiture of nationality in the event of crimes committed against the police, it is however “not acceptable […] that medical aid is being called into question,” he added.
The day before, Hervé Marseille was optimistic about the possibility of an agreement. “I think that the conditions are met for us to be able to reach a conclusive CMP,” he said. “We have abandoned a lot of things on the nationality code.” The general rapporteur of the text to the Assembly, Florent Boudié (Renaissance), displayed more caution, explaining to AFP that the discussions “are continuing”, “without anyone having, at this stage, slammed the door ” – which is rather a sign of “good will”. “Any premature declaration can cause things to fail,” dodged Annie Genevard, LR MP who will sit on the CMP. There is “no agreement at the moment”, with discussions failing on “the nationality code” and “social benefits”, the leader of the LR senators told AFP, Bruno Retailleau. A point confirmed by Yaël Braun-Pivet.
LR also has other demands, such as the deletion of article 4 on the right to work of certain asylum seekers, or the reinstatement of the offense of illegal residence, listed Bruno Retailleau in Le Figaro. Beyond the agreement that the general staffs can find, the challenge is for the executive as well as for the right to reach on Monday a text acceptable to the parliamentarians of each camp. Seven senators and seven titular deputies must meet from 5 p.m., behind closed doors, to decide on a common version of the text. If they succeed, the resulting text will be submitted to the vote of the two Assemblies on Tuesday.
“Indelible stain on our republican principles”
For its part, the far right is taking the opportunity to make its voice heard. In the “Sunday Event” on LCI, the leader of the National Rally, Jordan Bardella, judges that “rejecting the immigration law” “is protecting the French”. RN deputies will vote against the immigration text in the Assembly in the event of agreement, if it contains regularization measures. A position assumed by the leader of the movement. At this stage, a parliamentary source estimates that around 10% of the 251 deputies who make up the majority could abstain or vote against.
Furthermore, the leaders of the CFDT and the CGT, leaders of associations fighting against precariousness or defending the rights of foreigners and academics have called for the withdrawal of the immigration bill, an “indelible stain on our republican principles. In La Tribune Sunday, the leader of the PS deputies, Boris Vallaud, called “all humanists of the macronie to reason and coherence” by rejecting the text. Who will answer this call? For the majority, the risk of division is real.