Guest of “C à vous”, Wednesday December 20, Emmanuel Macron defended the immigration law, adopted the day before by Parliament. He denied having drawn on the ideas of the National Rally.
The day after the adoption by Parliament of the immigration law, Emmanuel Macron was interviewed on the set of C à vous, Wednesday December 20. At first, he considered that this law was a “shield that we lacked”. Even if the text was toughened by the Senate, the president assured: “We are a country which has always welcomed and which will continue to welcome”. He recalled that asylum was part of the Constitution and also affirmed that France had “an immigration problem”, but that for all that the country was not “overwhelmed”. “There is no submersion, no, I have never used these terms, but we have real immigration problems. There is more migratory pressure than ten years ago in the country”, he clarified.
According to him, the immigration bill has two defined objectives. It must make it possible to “fight against flows and illegal arrivals”, but also to “better integrate through language learning and work”. However, he conceded that certain measures of the immigration law did not make him “jump to the ceiling”. Thus, according to him, the deposit requested from foreign students is “not a good idea”. The president confirmed that he would submit the bill to the Constitutional Council “because [he] thinks that there are provisions which are not in conformity with our Constitution”. He added: “I think we can protect the country, provide it with this shield without changing our values and our Constitution. This is where I have a disagreement with the National Rally.”
Accused of having taken ideas from Marine Le Pen’s program for this immigration law, Emmanuel Macron defended himself. According to him, it is a “defeat for the National Rally”. “Are we calling into question the rights of the soil? No,” assured the president, who showed that the text did not go in the direction of the extreme right on several points. After the joint committee, Marine Le Pen welcomed the agreement reached. Emmanuel Macron denounced a “gross maneuver” by the RN which appropriated the victory.
“Our compatriots were waiting for this law. If we want the National Rally not to take responsibility, we must address the problems that fuel it,” he continued. “Today, what nourishes the National Rally is sometimes the feeling of some of our compatriots that the response is not effective enough,” explained Emmanuel Macron.
Five-year measures and those to come
Emmanuel Macron also spoke on other subjects, such as education. He reiterated his confidence in Gabriel Attal, Minister of Education. He also announced a law on the end of life in February 2024. Concerning the climate, he welcomed the drop in CO2 emissions in France. Finally, he affirmed that prices would stop rising, he reassured about security at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and defended Gérard Depardieu.