French President Emmanuel Macron faced cracks within his ruling alliance on Wednesday after parliament passed a toughened immigration bill, leaving him needing to find ways to appease left-leaning members.
The bill, a compromise between the centrist president’s party and the conservative opposition, illustrates a rightward shift in politics in much of Europe as governments try to curb the rise of the far-right by being tougher on immigration.
It also showed the difficulties for Macron of governing without a parliamentary majority, which he lost in the June 2022 election after winning a second presidential mandate.
The tougher rules – including migration quotas, making it harder for immigrants’ children to become French citizens, and delaying migrants’ access to welfare benefits – were added to the bill to win the support of right-wing lawmakers for its passage.
The bill makes it easier to expel illegal migrants, while watering down plans to loosen curbs over residency permits for workers in labour-deprived sectors.
Those conditions caused unease among Macron’s more left-leaning lawmakers, and dozens either abstained or gave it the thumbs-down in a vote on Tuesday, and there were reports of ministers possibly resigning.
Brittany lawmaker Jean-Charles Larsonneur told France Bleu radio that he was leaving the centrist Horizons group, part of Macron’s alliance, saying the law breached “republican values.”
