French Health Minister Aurelien Rousseau, who is hostile to the strengthening of the text of the immigration law passed by parliament, announced his resignation from the executive branch in a letter sent on Tuesday, writes Le Figaro, taken by News.ro.

Behind the scenes, the health minister strongly opposed the strengthening of the immigration bill, which was finally passed by the Senate and the National Assembly on Tuesday night.

His gesture deepens divisions in the presidential camp after the government made a series of concessions on the right to reach an agreement on the bill, one of the most important in President Emmanuel Macron’s second five-year term. It was also the most politically divisive, with 62 of the majority’s 251 MPs abstaining on Tuesday night.

The office of Prime Minister Elisabeth Bourne, contacted by Le Figaro on Tuesday evening, declined to say whether Aurelien Rousseau’s resignation had been accepted. As for his relatives, they limited themselves to a laconic message: “No comments.”

The French Parliament voted in favor of the immigration law

French lawmakers late on Tuesday approved a controversial bill to tighten rules for immigrants, handing President Emmanuel Macron a political victory that exposed cracks in his centrist majority. The bill, a compromise between Macron’s party and the conservative opposition, illustrates a rightward shift in politics across much of Europe as governments try to fend off the rise of the far-right by tightening immigration rules.

“Harsh measures are needed today,” Interior Minister Gérald Darmanen said after the vote in the lower house of the French parliament. “You cannot solve the problems of the French in the rest of the country by picking your nose in the center.” of Paris,” he added. The minister expressed his relief that the bill was passed by the votes of his centrist coalition and conservatives, without relying on the support of – surprisingly – far-right deputies, whose support caused confusion in the presidential camp.

The French government initially said it would be a “whip and gingerbread” law (sanctions and benefits, no) that would make it easier for migrants working in sectors with labor shortages to obtain residence permits, but would also make deportations easier. illegal migrants.

However, in order to win support from the right, the government agreed to ease measures on residence permits, while delaying immigrants’ access to social benefits, including child benefit and housing benefit, for several years.

The French have long boasted one of the most generous welfare systems in the world, providing benefits even to foreigners, helping them pay rent or care for their children with monthly contributions of up to several hundred euros, depending on income. The far right, and more recently the conservatives, have argued that they should be reserved for the French alone. The deal agreed on Tuesday delays access to housing benefits for unemployed immigrants from outside the EU for five years.

The compromise also introduces migration quotas, makes it harder for the children of immigrants to obtain French citizenship and provides that dual nationals convicted of serious crimes against the police could lose their French citizenship.

Many of Macron’s deputies voted against the law

The deal, negotiated by a special committee of seven senators and seven deputies and then approved by both chambers, was initially good news for Macron, who has made the migration bill a key item of his second term. would have to refuse.

With just six months to go before European Parliament elections, where immigration will be a major issue, the law could still bring electoral advantages to Marine Le Pen, who, sensing a political opportunity, called the revised bill a “great ideological victory”. ” for her far-right party. She surprised the government by announcing that her party would vote for the bill, causing huge discomfort to the left wing of Macron’s party, which finds it unacceptable to vote in unison with the far-right.

Sacha Uly, one of the most vocal representatives of Macron’s left wing in parliament, voted against the bill, his entourage told Reuters. In the end, 20 members of Macron’s Renaissance party voted against the bill, 17 abstained and 131 voted in favor.

Before the vote, there were speculations in the French press that some ministers threatened to resign if the vote passed.

The conservative Republican Party, which has for years stepped up its rhetoric to woo the far right, also claimed victory, saying the bill was essentially theirs.

The French president may have problems because of the “rebels”

Macron won two terms as president in 2017 and 2022 because voters rallied to him to prevent Marine Le Pen from winning, and left-wing lawmakers said the revamped migration bill was a betrayal of promises to ditch far-right ideas.

Rebels in Macron’s party could further weaken his position in parliament and make it more difficult for him to extend his term.

Prime Minister Elizabeth Bourne told parliament that the bill “will make the system more efficient because it will dramatically simplify asylum procedures, (and) because it will allow criminal or radical aliens to be deported more quickly.”

And other governments in Europe choose a tougher migration policy. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Saturday he would push for global reforms to the asylum system, warning that the threat of rising refugee numbers could “suffocate” parts of Europe.

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