The bill, a compromise reached between Macron’s party and the conservative opposition, illustrates the rightward shift in politics in much of Europe, as governments try to fend off the rise of the far-right by being tougher on immigration.
The tougher rules – including migration quotas, making it harder for immigrants’ children to become French, and delaying migrants’ access to welfare benefits – were added to the bill to get the support of right-wing lawmakers to pass the law.
That caused unease among Macron’s more left-leaning lawmakers, and dozens either abstained or voted against it.
Just six months before European Parliament elections in which immigration will be key, the adoption of the bill could also boost Marine Le Pen who, sensing a political opportunity, called the rejigged bill “a great ideological victory” for her far-right party.
Daily Le Figaro reported that health minister Aurelien Rousseau had presented his resignation, but Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne denied that.
Speaking on France Inter radio, Borne defended the bill, saying it responded to the French people’s worries about security and immigration and rejected talk of a crisis in Macron’s camp.
“We’ve done our job, we wanted a text with useful measures that our citizens were calling for,” she said, adding, “Now let’s move on.”
Borne also said that the government would ask the Constitutional Council to review the adopted bill. This opens the door to the council striking down some of the tougher measures if it deems them unconstitutional.
Macron – who lost his majority in the lower house of parliament in June 2022 – will speak on the 7pm local time “CaVous” political show on France 5 TV, France TV broadcaster said.
The centrist president won his two presidential mandates in 2017 and 2022 when voters rallied behind him to bar Le Pen from winning and left-wing members of parliament said the rejigged migration bill was a betrayal of promises made to fend off far-right ideas.
The rebels in Macron’s party could further weaken his hold on parliament and potentially complicate the rest of his mandate.
Francois Bayrou, head of the centrist party Modem and one of the key parties in Macron’s coalition, said that his party continued to support the government.
“Modem is still part of the governing coalition,” he told France 2 television.