Immigration: Gérald Darmanin reures the majority

The text initially planned or a new version capable of attracting the support of LR? The day after surprise return of the immigration bill, questions remained unanswered on the content of the new text.

This Thursday, Gérald Darmanin received at the Ministry of the Interior the main Renaissance parliamentarians concerned by the text – the president of the group, Aurore Bergé, the president of the Law Commission, Sacha Houlié, the deputy Florent Boudié – as well as the Minister of Labour, Olivier Dussopt.

The deputies left reured on the maintenance of the balance of the text. “We have obtained guarantees that there is no question of cutting back our initial ambition. It will be a bill to regularize the workers, simplify the procedures and better expel those who have no place in France”, declares to the “Echos” Sacha Houlié.

“Difficult to p”

The majority deputies feared that the “regularization” component would be sacrificed on the altar of a hypothetical agreement with LR. “I want a balanced text that is not limited to the sovereign aspect. We need provisions on labor immigration, because there are a lot of requests from employers on the ground, ”recalls Renaissance MP Marc Ferracci.

Next week, the bill will be discussed during the meeting with all components of the majority. From a political point of view, leaning the text to the right made the government take the risk of losing part of its majority.

Gérald Darmanin has one month to try to find a majority. The presentation of the text in the Council of Ministers is scheduled for July, its examination in Parliament in the autumn. But LR, who intends to present two texts on immigration on his side – an ordinary law and another constitutional – still does not seem ready for an agreement with the executive. The resurrection of the text by the government is even smiling in its ranks. “When you don’t have a course, you scull”, quips an LR parliamentarian.

Within the majority, we do not despair of convincing a few LR deputies, but the task promises to be tough because the equation has not changed. “Everyone has to face up to their responsibilities. This bill lays down simple principles which should be self-evident in the French Republic,” pleaded Aurore Bergé on France Inter. A position that risks colliding with the harsh principle of reality. “This bill will be difficult to p,” concludes a Renaissance parliamentarian. On this point, nothing has changed.