La France insoumise, the Socialist Party, ecologists and communists were the first to approach the Constitutional Council hoping to have the immigration law adopted this week canceled…
In a significant step of protest, left-wing deputies seized the Constitutional Council on Friday, December 22, questioning the constitutionality of the new immigration law. If a few isolated articles are particularly targeted, it is the entire text adopted Tuesday evening which is in the crosshairs of opposition elected officials.
The initiative was brought forward by elected officials from the four main left-wing groups in parliament: La France insoumise, the Socialist Party, the ecologists and the communists. In a press release, the latter expressed their desire to be heard at the beginning of January by the Constitutional Council to defend their arguments. In particular, they criticize around thirty articles of the law, considering them to be in disagreement with the fundamental principles of the French Constitution.
A central point of their opposition concerns the establishment of conditions for access to certain social benefits, depending on the length of residence in France. Left-wing deputies believe that this measure violates the principle of equality and is foreign to the very content of the bill, describing it as “legislative cavalier”. They also strongly oppose the tightening of family reunification rules, arguing that the law here infringes on privacy and the right to a normal family life.
Left-wing elected officials also emphasize that the establishment of “quotas” to limit the number of foreigners admitted to French territory for the next three years encroaches on the powers of Parliament. Among other objections, MEPs contest the exclusion of illegal foreigners from social pricing in transport, arguing that this goes against the principle of equality. They are also alarmed by the fact that the bill restricts the conditions for obtaining a residence permit for sick foreigners, which, according to them, disregards the right to health protection.
Another point of contention highlighted by MEPs concerns the treatment of foreign students. The law requires them to prove the “real and serious” nature of their studies, a requirement deemed discriminatory. In addition, left-wing elected officials denounce what they perceive as a challenge to the principle of unconditionality of emergency accommodation.
