A joint committee comprised of MPs and senators will attempt to reach an "intelligent compromise" demanded by French President Emmanuel Macron in an attempt to pass a crucial immigration law, which has been the subject of heated debate across the country's political class.
From 5pm this Monday, 14 MPs will meet at the National Assembly to study – article by article – the proposed new immigration law.
Last week, the text was amended in a National Assembly committee and referred back to the Senate, then subsequently rejected by MPs.
The composition of the joint committee reflects the political balance in the National Assembly and the Senate, where President Macron's supporters do not hold an absolute majority.
They are namely: four deputies from the presidential camp, one from Les Républicains, one from the far-right National Rally and one from the hard-left France Unbowed.
In the Senate, three Republicans, two Socialists, one centrist and one Macronist will be around the negotiating table.
If a compromise is reached, the bill will be voted on in each of the two chambers.
If, however, the joint committee's negotiations are "inconclusive", the text could be abandoned.
Since the vote to reject the motion last week, negotiations have reportedly been going well under the leadership of the Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne and the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin.
"The government would like to reach an agreement with the Senate, with the leaders of the Républicains, for a text that will not be a perfect text, but it will be a text of agreement, and I think that everyone has to take a step", he said on Sunday on BFMTV.
Ce texte comprend des mesures essentielles qui donneront des moyens supplémentaires aux policiers et aux gendarmes. Il permettra de renvoyer dans leur pays d’origine 4000 étrangers délinquants supplémentaires chaque année. pic.twitter.com/UjLd407cV5
— Gérald DARMANIN (@GDarmanin) December 17, 2023
"I don't think the French would understand if France were to be one of the only democracies in the world not to legislate on its immigration," Darmanin added.
The Republicans – who have a majority in the Senate and whose 62 deputies can swing the vote in the Assembly – have been particularly engaged by the executive, whose left wing rejects an overly abrupt version of the text, which is supposed to toughen entry conditions for foreigners in France while encouraging integration.
No use of article 49.3
LR is defending the version passed by the Senate, which includes in particular the abolition of state medical assistance (AME), the re-establishment of an offence of illegal residence and drastic conditions for regularisation for undocumented workers employed in sectors such as construction and catering.
"We won't accept any haggling or salami-slicing", declared president of the Republicains group in the Senate, Bruno Retailleau, told Le Figaro.
The National Rally is calling for a referendum on the the subject.
Speaking on LCI television on Sunday, National Rally president Jordan Bardalla said: "We are at the heart of a text that will worsen immigration in our society."
Bardella is opposed to any regularisation of illegal immigrants, which he has described as a "bonus for illegality".
Quand il y a une crise politique, c'est parfaitement sain de revenir devant le peuple français : c'est lui le souverain ultime en démocratie.
— Jordan Bardella (@J_Bardella) December 17, 2023
Le RN est prêt à revenir aux urnes et à assumer ses responsabilités en cas de victoire aux élections législatives anticipées. @LCI pic.twitter.com/pBC7KA51zL
Meanwhile, the left is also trying to make its voice heard.
"The majority must pull itself together and not give in to the diktats of the Republicains and not serve ideas borrowed from the far right," declared the chairman of the Socialist Group in the Assembly, Boris Vallaud.
The replacement of medical assistance for undocumented migrants by Aide could finally be the subject of a separate text to be examined examined in early 2024.
'Intelligent compromise'
Another sticking point concerns the length of residence required to be resident in France in order to qualify for family benefits, which the Right wants to set at five years.
Friday before the press at the Brussels European Council, Emmanuel Macron called for an "intelligent compromise" on "a text that improves the way we work together and makes it possible to better protect the French".
The President justified the decision not to resort to the blocked vote authorised by Article 49.3 of the Constitution to pass the text.
"It would not be serious to pass a sensitive text by 49.3 when the opposition have done everything to ensure that there is no debate ... I'm trying to be consistent", the Head of State said.
