The immigration bill, launched by Gérald Darmanin, and whose examination was to begin in the Senate in October, has been postponed. It will be preceded by a “great debate”announced the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, in an interview with Figaro posted Wednesday, August 3.
“In October, we will put on the agenda of the National Assembly and the Senate a major debate on immigration before a finalized bill is presented. We have a proposal for a legislative text, but for such a subject, two months of consultation are not too much”declares to the daily Mr. Darmanin.
The great debate will be preceded, “at the request of the Prime Minister”Elisabeth Borne, of a consultation at the Ministry of the Interior “with all parties, social partners, associations and representatives of civil society”says M. Darmanin.
Appeal before a single judge
This consultation will take place “on the basis of our proposals”continued the Minister, some of which have already been announced in recent days: for example, the conditioning of a residence permit at “obtaining a certificate proving mastery of French and acceptance of the values of the Republic”.
He also listed the measures envisaged to allow the effective expulsion of delinquent foreigners, such as the abolition of the provisions prohibiting this (marriage, arrival in France before the age of 13). Last week, at the microphone of BFM-TV, he said to assume “a form of double punishment” for delinquent foreigners, namely punishment and then expulsion. SOS Racisme was delighted with this postponement, seeing “a crop” welcome from the Prime Minister. Last week, when the law was announced, the association considered that Mr. Darmanin’s proposals confirmed his “alignment with the positions of the extreme right”.
Among the new measures, the Minister also proposes that an expulsion decision be issued “as soon as the asylum application is rejected” and that appeals to the National Court for the Right of Asylum be made before a single judge, compared to three at present.
To this battery of measures would be added the “sharp reduction in the number of applicable procedures” in matters of expulsion to reduce the time for appeal and “simplify the rules of litigation for foreigners”. In this, he says he relies on the recommendations of the Council of State and the report of Senator François-Noël Buffet (Les Républicains).
“Additional quotas by profession”
Gérald Darmanin also wishes to accelerate the dematerialization of the files of immigration candidates by experimenting “pre-instruction back-offices” to eliminate the queues in front of the prefectures.
Finally, on the aspect of economic immigration, the Minister says he is ready with the Minister of Labour, Olivier Dussopt, “to imagine additional quotas by profession or by sector in tension”such as the hotel, construction or catering industry.
The debate on professional immigration quotas, antiphon of the right and scarecrow on the left, had been relaunched in October 2019 by Edouard Philippe, then Prime Minister, but these had not been established.