Invited Monday evening on the set of 20 Hours on TF1, Gérald Darmanin discussed the different scenarios now available to the executive after the rejection of the immigration law.
This is the worst scenario that could happen, the one that even Gérald Darmanin did not seem to believe possible. And yet, on Monday December 11, 2023, after a suspense worthy of a hit Netflix series, the rejection motion tabled by environmentalists was narrowly adopted, with 270 votes for and 265 against. A hard blow for the executive, a real “failure” for Gérald Darmanin who immediately resigned to President Emmanuel Macron, who refused him.
On the set of 20 Hours on TF1 Monday evening, the one who remains Minister of the Interior returned to the three now possible scenarios, while he then had to go to a crisis meeting in Matignon where the Prime Minister, Élisabeth Borne, brought together the various ministers concerned by the immigration bill as well as the president of the Law Commission, Sacha Houlié, the general rapporteur of the text, Florent Boudié, and the presidents of majority groups. “This text will continue its institutional path”, immediately posed the tenant of Beauvau in front of Gilles Bouleau, seeming to quickly rule out one of the “three possibilities” available to the government.
Indeed, while raising the option of withdrawing the text, Gérald Darmanin hastened to add that “strong measures for the police, the gendarmes, for the protection of the French must be taken in a text of firmness which, in particular, aims to expel delinquent foreigners”. And adds: “We see enough drama not to take our responsibilities.” There would therefore remain two options for the executive: “a new reading in the Senate” or the direct sending of the “text to what is called the joint committee”, which brings together seven deputies and seven senators whose objective is to find a deal. Early Monday evening, both possibilities seemed on the table. “We will see what we decide”, declared the Minister of the Interior, specifying in passing that “the President of the Republic asked [them] to find this crest line to adopt strong measures”.
