A very important immigration reform bill that French President Emmanuel Macron‘s government wanted to pass did not pass.
Politicians from different sides voted on Monday to say no to the bill.
The government says the bill is meant to manage immigration and help migrants blend in better.
The people on the left think the rules are too strict, and the people on the right think the rules are not strict enough.
The new law would allow the government to send away migrants who have been in prison for five years or more. It would also make it harder for migrants to bring their family to France.
The new law is not as strict as the one suggested by the Senate, which is mostly controlled by the right. That law would have made it much harder for illegal immigrants to get healthcare and benefits.
Mr Macron’s tough Interior Minister, Gérald Darmanin, strongly backed the proposed law. He said on X (formerly Twitter) before the vote that if the bill passed, the government could send “very dangerous” foreign nationals, like drug dealers, out of the country.
However, he was not able to persuade opposing members of Parliament to support him. Instead, different groups within the opposition voted for a motion to say no to the bill. Members of the National Rally team up with members of France Unbowed, the Republicans, and smaller parties to defeat the government.
Before the vote, Arthur Delaporte, a member of Parliament for the centre-left Socialist party, said his party would vote against the bill because he thought it was unfair, shocking, and a danger to freedom.
Mr Macron’s party did not win the most seats in parliament in the June 2022 elections. From that time on, the government has often struggled to get enough votes in parliament.
The Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne is not allowed to use a special power to pass laws without a vote in order to approve this draft.