French President Emmanuel Macron signed a controversial law tightening rules regarding migrants in New Delhi, where the French leader was visiting, according to the text of the law published on Saturday in the official journal of the Fifth Republic.
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Earlier, the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Gerald Darmanen, said that the law would be signed, despite the recognition of a third of the text as contrary to the constitution. On Friday, the minister gathered all the prefects and ordered the law to begin to be implemented immediately after it was signed.
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“Taking into account the decision of the Constitutional Council… dated January 25, 2024, the President of the Republic publishes the law,” the text of the document on the website of the official journal says.
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It is noted that the signing took place the day before in New Delhi, where Macron was on a visit.
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France’s Constitutional Council on Thursday acknowledged that several articles in a high-profile law to tighten immigration rules are unconstitutional, rejecting more than a third of the bill’s text.
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Thus, articles tightening the rules for entry on a family visa, the obligation to leave the country for foreign students, as well as the introduction of “migration quotas” were rejected.
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The government agency considered criminal penalties for illegal stay in the country, differences in the right to access social security depending on the type of professional employment and length of stay in the country, as well as changes in the right to French citizenship by birth in France to be contrary to current legislation.
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The law, which in France is also called the “Darmanin law,” simplifies the expulsion of foreigners staying illegally in the country. It includes many measures to strengthen control over the deportation of illegal immigrants, and also involves the expulsion from France of foreigners who have committed crimes. Illegal migrants due to leave France will be added to the wanted list to ensure they actually leave the country.
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The bill was actively criticized by French NGOs for the protection of migrants, as well as a number of foreign worker associations and trade unions. They previously published a petition against the bill, noting that it is a “fundamental violation of the rights of migrants” and aims to “enshrine in law the arbitrariness and repressive practices of prefects.”
