To remedy the situation the government decided to modify the initial text, getting closer to the Right and Far Right vision of the bill, and ensure their votes in passing the text. After that, Macron's majority was perceived as fragile by both the media and by the French people, indeed, 65 percent of them believed it was a major crisis for Macron's majority. Secondly, the bill was largely censured by the French Constitutional Council. The nine judges rejected 35 articles, i.e. 40 percent of the text, including controversial points on stricter access to social benefits for immigrants and the restoration of the offense of "illegal residence" for foreigners. However, according to the government view, the new bill is focused on two main points: a better integration of immigrants through language and employment, and a more effective control of the borders.
The new immigration bill: improve integration
Integration of foreigners always has been a divisive topic in French society, but for most immigrants, France has remained an attractive country to settle in. In 2022, 84 percent of new female immigrants and 83 percent of their male counterparts declared they would like to stay permanently in France. Because of France's colonial history, immigrants from North Africa remained the most important immigrant community in the country and they were also the most integrated into French society. In 2022 almost 70 percent of immigrants coming from North African countries declared they felt well integrated, compared to only eight percent of immigrants coming from China. But in general, integration can also be measured when looking into the employment rate, for instance in 2022, 68 percent of new immigrants declared themselves employed.The new immigration bill: immigration control
Even with an emphasis put on integration, it was the harshness of tighter immigration and border controls that was denounced, especially by the left-wing opposition parties, highlighting the already strict position of France on these matters. For instance, in 2022, there were 9,180 immigrants who were refused entry at external borders. But more than strengthening control at external borders, the new bill mostly focused on facilitating the expulsion of foreigners who represented a serious threat to public order. One point of the bill will allow the deportation of legal foreign nationals, even if they have been in France for a long time or have personal or family ties there, convicted of crimes or offenses punishable by at least three or five years imprisonment, depending on the foreign national's situation. The government supported this decision with data, such as the fact that in 2022, only 6.9 percent of obligations to leave French territory were carried out among the ones pronounced.Finally, the draft of the bill initially presented by the Parliament also mentioned the introduction of a financial deposit, higher tuition fees, and checks on the "real and serious nature" of non-EU students, but these measures are actually an example of the ones rejected by the Constitutional Council. Indeed, they were considered anti-constitutional, a decision welcomed by France Universités, an association of university managers, considering that in 2022, the three most common nationalities among all international students were Moroccan, Algerian, and Chinese.
