PARIS: France’s National Assembly has adopted a controversial immigration bill that speeds up the asylum process and accelerates deportations after a fierce debate that exposed divisions in President Emmanuel Macron’s party.
After 61 hours of discussion, the legislation, which was slammed by the left as too tough and the right as too soft, was approved late Sunday by 228 votes in favor to 139 against.
Fourteen members of Macron’s centrist Republic on the Move (LREM) party were among the 24 MPs who abstained, and one dissident quit the LREM parliamentary group after joining the naysayers — a rare display of defiance in the usually on-message movement.
Jean-Michel Clement, a former member of the Socialist Party who joined Macron’s party last year, said he had voted with his “conscience.”
Opposition was strongest on the right, with the conservative Republicans and far-right National Front (FN) leading a failed charge for much tougher controls on immigration.
FN leader Marine Le Pen, who won 36 percent of the vote in last year’s presidential election run-off, said the law would lead to a “flood of migration.”
But NGOs were also up in arms.
Within minutes of the vote Amnesty International France issued a statement warning that the “dangerous” legislation, which allows for failed asylum-seekers to be detained for up to 90 days, jeopardized migrants’ rights.
The French migrant-support charity Cimade was also sharply critical of the draft law.
“So men, women and children can be locked up for three months without committing an offense. No government has ever gone so far on locking up foreigners,” it tweeted.
But opinion polls show voters supporting stricter rules, which the government presented as necessary to check the rise of populists who are on the march across Europe.
On Saturday, far-right activists from various European countries blocked a key mountain pass on the border with Italy to try prevent migrants — mostly young men from west Africa — crossing.
France received a record 100,000 asylum applications last year, bucking the general trend in Europe where the number of asylum seekers halved between 2016 and 2017.
MPs spent the weekend haggling over more than 1,000 proposed amendments to the bill, which aims to both improve conditions for asylum-seekers by halving the waiting time for a response to six months, and get tougher with those deemed “economic” migrants.
Leftwing opponents lashed out at measures to keep asylum seekers in detention.
“Nothing justifies locking up a kid,” said Socialist deputy Herve Saulignac.
Leftist critics had also complained about plans to cut the time within which asylum-claimers can appeal if rejected for refugee status from four weeks to two, saying they would not have enough time to defend their claim.
They also came out against a proposed “solidarity offense” targeting people who assist border-jumpers, like farmer Cedric Herrou, a farmer who was given a suspended sentence for helping migrants cross into France from Italy.
The government eventually agreed to exempt anyone providing struggling newcomers with food, accommodation, medical, linguistic, legal or social assistance.
Among the measures that received broad support on the center and left were plans to help refugees better integrate, with more free French lessons and the right to work after being in France for six months.
Despite the fractious debate, the bill was never really in jeopardy, thanks to Macron’s large parliamentary majority. It now moves to the Senate.
The horse-trading in the National Assembly came as Macron’s reform of the public sector runs into stiff opposition from trade unions and students, who have conducted weeks of strikes, demonstrations and sit-ins.
Rail workers object to plans to strip new recruits of jobs-for-life and early retirement while students have occupied some universities over new requirements for admission to public universities.
The unions are gambling on the resistance swelling into a mass movement but opinion polls suggest the opposite is happening, with just 43 percent backing the strike in an Ifop survey released Sunday and train strikes starting to ease.
![]()
French MPs adopt controversial immigration bill
French MPs adopt controversial immigration bill
- Opinion polls show voters supporting stricter rules, which the government presented as necessary to check the rise of populists who are on the march across Europe
- Within minutes of the vote Amnesty International France issued a statement warning that the “dangerous” legislation
Hong Kong mourns firefighter killed in city’s deadliest fire in decades
HONG KONG: Hong Kongers offered flowers and bowed outside a funeral parlor on Friday to pay tribute to a firefighter who was among the 160 people killed by the city’s deadliest fire in decades.
Ho Wai-ho lost his life battling the massive blaze that engulfed seven buildings of a housing complex on Nov. 26. He was 37. The fire services department has posthumously awarded him the title of senior fireman.
An array of wreaths lay outside the Universal Funeral Parlour, with thank-you cards from residents put up on its wall. Top officials, including Hong Kong leader John Lee, were among the funeral attendees.
After the ceremony, they stood outside the parlor to send off the hearse, which carried Ho’s portrait at the front. Dozens of firefighters raised a salute as Ho’s coffin, draped with a Hong Kong regional flag, departed.
Before the funeral, some black-clad residents laid flowers at a mourning area outside the venue. One woman cried when she paid respect, and a man made a salute gesture.
Resident Andy Fong, who brought yellow flowers with him, said he hoped Ho could rest in peace.
“It’s heartbreaking. Although we have never met, it has saddened every Hong Konger,” he said.
Retiree Tse Pak-yin praised Ho for his bravery.
“I hope he will be happy. He still hasn’t got married and it’s such as pity,” he said.
Ho is survived by his parents, his two brothers and his fiancée.
The hearse headed to Wang Fuk Court, the site of the fire, for another ceremony before proceeding to Ho’s fire station. At the station, colleagues paid their last tributes, with some officers marching on both sides of the hearse as it moved. He was laid to rest at Gallant Garden, a burial ground for civil servants who die in the line of duty.
In a Monday statement, the fire services department said Ho was an industrious, polite and dedicated member who was well respected by his colleagues.
The financial hub’s worst blaze since 1948 broke out November 26 at Wang Fuk Court, in the northern suburban district of Tai Po. It was undergoing a monthslong renovation project with buildings covered by bamboo scaffolding and green netting.
Authorities have pointed to the substandard plastic nylon netting and foam boards installed on windows for contributing to the fire’s rapid spread.
Thousands of affected residents have moved to transitional homes, hotels and youth hostels, struggling to recover from the loss of lives and homes that took them years to buy. The tragedy pained many residents across the city.
While arrests were made, some residents have raised concerns about government oversight in building maintenance projects and official investigation efforts.
The government last week announced a judge-led independent committee to probe the cause and expected it to conclude the work within nine months, along with new requirements for checking the standards of netting.
Ho Wai-ho lost his life battling the massive blaze that engulfed seven buildings of a housing complex on Nov. 26. He was 37. The fire services department has posthumously awarded him the title of senior fireman.
An array of wreaths lay outside the Universal Funeral Parlour, with thank-you cards from residents put up on its wall. Top officials, including Hong Kong leader John Lee, were among the funeral attendees.
After the ceremony, they stood outside the parlor to send off the hearse, which carried Ho’s portrait at the front. Dozens of firefighters raised a salute as Ho’s coffin, draped with a Hong Kong regional flag, departed.
Before the funeral, some black-clad residents laid flowers at a mourning area outside the venue. One woman cried when she paid respect, and a man made a salute gesture.
Resident Andy Fong, who brought yellow flowers with him, said he hoped Ho could rest in peace.
“It’s heartbreaking. Although we have never met, it has saddened every Hong Konger,” he said.
Retiree Tse Pak-yin praised Ho for his bravery.
“I hope he will be happy. He still hasn’t got married and it’s such as pity,” he said.
Ho is survived by his parents, his two brothers and his fiancée.
The hearse headed to Wang Fuk Court, the site of the fire, for another ceremony before proceeding to Ho’s fire station. At the station, colleagues paid their last tributes, with some officers marching on both sides of the hearse as it moved. He was laid to rest at Gallant Garden, a burial ground for civil servants who die in the line of duty.
In a Monday statement, the fire services department said Ho was an industrious, polite and dedicated member who was well respected by his colleagues.
The financial hub’s worst blaze since 1948 broke out November 26 at Wang Fuk Court, in the northern suburban district of Tai Po. It was undergoing a monthslong renovation project with buildings covered by bamboo scaffolding and green netting.
Authorities have pointed to the substandard plastic nylon netting and foam boards installed on windows for contributing to the fire’s rapid spread.
Thousands of affected residents have moved to transitional homes, hotels and youth hostels, struggling to recover from the loss of lives and homes that took them years to buy. The tragedy pained many residents across the city.
While arrests were made, some residents have raised concerns about government oversight in building maintenance projects and official investigation efforts.
The government last week announced a judge-led independent committee to probe the cause and expected it to conclude the work within nine months, along with new requirements for checking the standards of netting.
Latest updates
Recommended
© 2025 SAUDI RESEARCH & PUBLISHING COMPANY, All Rights Reserved And subject to Terms of Use Agreement.