Published December 12, 2023
PARIS — President Emmanuel Macron has been stopped dead in his tracks over the failure of a flagship immigration bill that shows how hard it will now be to run France without an absolute majority in the National Assembly.
On Monday, the National Assembly rejected his flagship immigration bill in a dramatic vote that took the government by surprise. The defeat was made more humiliating by the fact that lawmakers didn’t even debate the text, but rejected it in a preliminary vote.
The upset sent shockwaves through the political establishment and raised questions about whether France has become ungovernable.
“It could mean we are reaching the end of his mandate faster than expected, that we are entering Emmanuel Macron’s end of reign. He’s running out of steam, and will find it harder and harder to keep his MPs in check,” said political analyst Chloé Morin.
Doubts about Macron’s ability to govern France have been swirling since he lost the parliamentary elections last year. While his centrist coalition remained the largest group in the National Assembly, he no longer had an absolute majority to pass legislation.
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SOURCE: www.politico.eh
RELATED:Emmanuel Macron’s government in crisis after migration bill defeat
French President Emmanuel Macron’s government is in crisis after opposition parties united to defeat a key immigration bill.
Following the reform’s defeat, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin offered to step down
Published December 11, 2023
MPs from the far right, far left and moderate parties voted on Monday to reject the draft law.
The left argued its measures were too repressive, while the right said they were not tough enough.
Following the defeat, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin offered to step down.
Viewed as a hardliner on immigration issues, he had strongly supported the draft law. However, Mr Macron rejected his resignation.
The government argued the bill would both control immigration and better integrate migrants.
The bill would have made it easier for the government to expel migrants who are sentenced to prison sentences of five years or longer and would have made it more difficult for migrants to bring family members to France.
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SOURCE: www.bbc.com
RELATED: France’s Emmanuel Macron buffeted from all sides in row over secularism
Emmanuel Macron has been accused of betraying the French Republic after he took part in a Jewish ceremony inside his official residence, the Elysée Palace.
President Emmanuel Macron looked on as France’s Chief Rabbi Haïm Korsia lit a candle for the first night of Hanukkah
Published December 9, 2023
In a country where the separation of religion is itself a religion, the lighting of a Hanukkah candle inside the historic Salle des Fêtes on Thursday was immediately denounced by politicians of both right and left.
The president had invited France’s Chief Rabbi Haïm Korsia to light the first of eight candles on a Hanukkiah, or candelabra, marking the start of the Jewish festival of lights. The occasion was the award to President Macron of a prize for his efforts against antisemitism.
But when video of the ceremony appeared shortly afterwards on social media, there was furore.
For French opinion-formers of all stripes, the president had committed an enormous faux-pas by allowing religion into the secular hallows of the presidency.
“As far as I know this is the first time this has ever happened. It is a breach of secularism,” said David Lisnard, a prominent right-wing opposition figure who is also mayor of Cannes.
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SOURCE: www.bbc.com
