French President Emmanuel Macron defended the adoption of a controversial new law toughening immigration in a televised interview on Wednesday, facing down critics who say he conceded too much to the far right in getting the law passed.
France has always welcomed and will continue to welcome foreigners, in particular asylum seekers and students, President Emmanuel Macron said in an interview with the "C à vous" television programme, his first public remarks since the contested immigration reform was voted into law shortly before midnight on Tuesday.
The law was the necessary result of a compromise, Macron said, noting that he doesn't agree with all aspects of the legislation. "Political life consists of crises, of agreements and of disagreements," he said.
The controversial new rules – including migration quotas, making it harder for immigrants' children to become French citizens and delaying migrants' access to welfare benefits – were added to the bill to win the support of right-wing lawmakers for its passage.
The bill also makes it easier to expel illegal migrants while back-peddling on plans to ease residency permits for workers in labour-deprived sectors.
These measures and others caused unease among Macron's more left-leaning lawmakers, and dozens either abstained or gave it the thumbs-down in Tuesday's vote.
Macron faced cracks within his ruling alliance after parliament passed the bill, including the resignation of his health minister, Aurélien Rousseau.
Although Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally party endorsed the bill in a move some media dubbed the "kiss of death", Macron insisted that he had not "betrayed" the voters who rallied behind him to keep Le Pen from power when he faced her during his 2022 re-election bid.
"It is a shield that we needed," Macron said of the law in his interview on Wednesday. The new legislation is “very clearly” aimed at discouraging illegal immigration.
This law "will allow us to fight against what nourishes the National Rally party", Macron said, notably fears over migration.
France has an "immigration problem", Macron acknowledged, while stressing that the country is not "overwhelmed by immigration".
(FRANCE 24 with Reuters and AFP)
