An intensely contested immigration bill stands in violation of France's constitutional commitment to freedom and equality, United Nations Special Spokesperson on Racism told Reuters, amid nationwide protests against the legislation that is backed by far-right lawmakers.
French President Emmanuel Macron has made the bill a key point of his second term and defends its passage through parliament despite the embarrassment he's faced over the support it has drawn from Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally party. Macron referred the legislation to France's Constitutional Council to decide if it complies with the constitution.
The bill includes migration quotas, obstacles to family reunification, and delays to migrants' access to welfare benefits, as well as articles canceling automatic birthright citizenship and making it easier to deport non-French nationals."When we look at the French constitution or the way in which the head of state or many in positions of power speak, it's [about] equality, but that is in strong contradiction to these policies," Ashwini K.P., Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, and related intolerance, told Reuters in a phone interview over the weekend.
What Has The Response In France Been?
This past Sunday saw widepread participation in the recent demonstrations across Fance, where tens of thousands expressed their opposition to the bill, labeling it as a departure from French principles. Despite publus support indicated by opinion polls, protestors denounced it as a betrayal of the nation's values. Ashwini K.P. expressed particular concern over the proposed restrictions to social welfare for migrants, fee hikes, and the introduction of a refundable deposit for foreign students, saying these would greatly "impact marginalized communities." She went on to elaborate that she hopes France's Constitutional Council will make amendments.
Some of the tougher elements in the bill were added to win the support of right-wing lawmakers after Macron, a centrist, lost his parliamentary majority last year but they have caused unease among some of his more left-leaning lawmakers. Ashwini K.P. said she would focus on discrimination in France this year, given the influence of far-right groups there, incidents such as the police shooting last year of a teenager of North African descent that prompted nationwide riots, and discrimination against Muslim women wearing the hijab.
Macron's office at the Elysee Palace said only the Constitutional Council could determine the constitutionality of laws and would give its verdict on Thursday.
