French gov’t unveils controversial migrant bill

THE French government defended a new immigration bill as “completely balanced” on Wednesday despite criticism from rights groups and some ruling party lawmakers that it will lead to thousands of extra deportations.

The draft law, which criminalises illegal border crossings and speeds up procedures to deport economic migrants, was presented to the cabinet of President Emmanuel Macron for the first time. It has sparked anger from NGOs, who have branded it repressive, but the centrist government insists it is creating a more efficient system to sift out genuine refugees from those simply seeking a better life in France.

“It’s a well-balanced law, in line with European law above all, and it is absolutely necessary that countries like Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Sweden have the same type of procedures,” Interior Minister Gerard Collomb told a press conference.

More deportations

Macron, the 40-year-old centrist elected last May, says the new policy aims to balance “efficiency” with “humanity”, but the issue has become one of the most divisive of his young presidency. He has highlighted how the law would offer faster asylum procedures for refugees and improve their lives once accepted in France, but some members of his Republic on the Move (LREM) party have broken ranks.

The bill doubles the time that failed asylum seekers can be held in detention to 90 days – a move aimed at making it easier to deport them – and halves the amount of the time applicants have to mount appeals.

“The most vulnerable will be punished,” warned Jean-Michel Clement, an MP who joined the LREM after switching from the Socialists.

The bill will be introduced in parliament in April, with debate expected to last several weeks. While leftwingers see it as too punitive, the right-wing opposition has labelled it too soft.

French voters consistently cite immigration as a top concern, and the issue helped far-right nationalist leader Marine Le Pen to win 34 percent of the vote in the presidential election last year.