Immigration: LR unveils two bills to “take back control”

Possibility of a referendum on migration policy, reinstatement of the offense of illegal residence and inclusion of assimilation in the Constitution: The Republicans unveiled in the Journal du Dimanche two offensive bills in order to “regain control” in the matter. “The French tell us in all the polls: there are too many immigrants. We must regain control, ”declares in the JDD the president of the LR senators, Bruno Retailleau.

Touting “a project of rupture, both daring and serious”, the number 1 of the party Éric Ciotti pleads in unison “to put a stop to mass immigration”, in the cross interview in which the leader of the deputies LR Olivier Marleix also participated. A way of showing, they say, that “we have always been united on these subjects”.

“Allow a referendum to be held on migration policy”

Because after having shown internal divisions on the pension reform, LR wants to regain control of one of their markers, immigration, by filing “this week” two bills intended to set the tempo, while the executive goes from one reversal to another on its intentions in the matter.

The first proposal is of a constitutional nature: it aims to “allow the holding of a referendum on migration policy”, when, today, “the referendum can only relate to the organization of public powers and economic reforms , social and environmental,” recalls Bruno Retailleau. With this proposal, “the French will be able to vote on any bill or draft organic law whatever the subject, including immigration”, he continues.

In this same text, LR intends to include in the Constitution “the possibility of derogating from the primacy of treaties and European law (…) when “the fundamental interests of the Nation” are at stake”, considering that immigration enters into this box, according to Bruno Retailleau. LR also intends to “elevate the principle of assimilation to constitutional rank”.

As for the other proposal, an ordinary law, it aims in particular to “affirm that one does not enter France by breaking and entering by restoring the offense of illegal residence”, abolished in 2012 under François Hollande. Or even to engage “a standoff with countries that do not agree to give consular passes to recover their nationals, both in terms of visas and in terms of development aid”, explains Bruno Retailleau.

“We must vote” a “revision of the Constitution”

While the executive must initiate consultations on the subject, Éric Ciotti says “to the government and to the President of the Republic: chick”. “If you sincerely want to change migration policy, you must vote for this revision of the Constitution. Otherwise, nothing will be possible,” he insists.

In the event that the government “tried to pass through 49.3 a lax text” in the eyes of LR, Olivier Marleix threatens, for his part, to “file a motion of censure”, a border that LR has not yet crossed but which could bring down the Borne government in the event of a coalition of oppositions. “I told the Prime Minister. I think the message has been received,” he said.

In this sense, LR considers “not negotiable” the creation of a new residence permit for trades in tension, as envisaged by the government. “No text that would include new suction pumps like this massive regularization will be voted on in the Senate,” says Bruno Retailleau.