On Tuesday, the French parliament approved an immigration bill that was supported by President Emmanuel Macron’s administration, despite a significant uprising within his own party due to the far-right’s support for the more restrictive legislation.
The legislation was ultimately approved by the lower house with a resounding majority, meaning that the ruling party did not require the backing of Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) in order to pass the legislation.
The immigration laws have been tightened even more since the bill was first introduced thanks to a number of amendments, and the left is accusing the government of giving in to pressure from the extreme right.
Le Pen supported the revised bill, but some of Macron’s left-wing supporters in the Renaissance Party and its allies said they could no longer support it. Some ministers even reportedly threatened to quit.
Leading the National Rally’s lawmakers in parliament, Le Pen is a three-time presidential candidate who is widely expected to run again in 2027. “We can rejoice in ideological progress, an ideological victory even for the National Rally (RN), since this is now enshrined into law as a national priority,” Le Pen said.
The RN had earlier declared that it would either abstain or vote against the bill. Her uRenowned left-wing Renaissance MP Sacha Houlie had declared he would vote against the bill and urged others to do the same; according to some accounts, about thirty MPs who supported Macron would back him.
Prior to the vote, Macron called a meeting of his ruling party at the Elysee palace, indicating the gravity of the situation, party sources told AFP.
A meeting participant said that Macron threatened to send the bill to a new reading instead of promulgating it if Le Pen’s RN votes were the only thing keeping it from being passed.nexpected action was dubbed a “kiss of death” for Macron’s party by the French media.
Last week, the bill was voted down in the National Assembly without even a debate.
