The suspense came to an end on Tuesday night. Barring a huge surprise, the government's immigration bill will be largely passed, in a little less than a week, in the Senate. The text has been toughened by the Senate majority, which is taking advantage of the debates in the Upper Chamber to add some of its flagship proposals to this reform, such as the abolition of state medical aid, the reinstatement of the offence of illegal residence, the introduction of migration quotas and the limitation of family reunification.
Above all, the main obstacle to the adoption of the text has been removed. After much negotiation, Hervé Marseille's centrists and Bruno Retailleau's Les Républicains reached an agreement on Article 3, which provided for the regularisation of undocumented workers in jobs "in shortage". It will simply be "abolished", the two partners in the Senate majority announced. And replaced by another article, providing for the tightening of the criteria provided for by the Valls circular, which came into force in 2012, and which authorizes the regularization of foreigners living in France for at least five years and with an employment contract or a promise of employment.
A 'victory'
A "victory", according to the two partners of the Senate majority on Wednesday evening, while the measures in question were about to be voted on at the Luxembourg Palace. "The most important thing is that a bill is passed in the Senate. It may be imperfect, but it had to be proven that this House is capable of having a majority on such an important reform. Otherwise, we lose our legitimacy and our ability to be the point of balance between the institutions," says Hervé Marseille.
We welcome the fact that an agreement has been reached by the Senate majority on jobs in short supply
Gérald Darmanin, Minister of the Interior
"We are pleased that an agreement has been reached by the Senate majority on jobs in short supply. This firm and fair text is useful to France. Let's continue to work together, as the government has always wanted," Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said on X (formerly Twitter). Beauvau's host also displayed a delighted smile throughout the day on Wednesday at the Palais du Luxembourg. Between a selfie with an LR senator and a discussion with schoolchildren who had come to visit the Senate, Gérald Darmanin watched, with a perky gaze, the Prime Minister answering a question from Socialist Senator Patrick Kanner on the abolition of state medical aid. A measure endorsed by the Senate majority after a "wise opinion" from the government. This position of neutrality has been widely denounced by the left.
'A red rag'
In the minority at the Palais du Luxembourg, the Socialist, Green and Communist senators are looking gloomy. They who were hoping for a compromise with the centrists on jobs in short supply have seen their main chance of victory disappear. Sitting at the Senate refreshment bar, Mélanie Vogel is an example of this. Prostrate in her chair, her hands on her head, the Green politician does not hide her dismay. "It's a bit of hell...", she says, disappointed.
LR is playing for its survival, Gérald Darmanin for his ministry, Élisabeth Borne for his ability to pass texts and Gérard Larcher for his ability to hold his majority
Mélanie Vogel, Green MP
"I feel like LR won even more than they initially hoped for. This text has brought together so many political issues that go far beyond the question of regularisations that the possibility of doing serious substantive work no longer exists." He argued: "LR is playing for its survival, Gérald Darmanin for his ministry, Élisabeth Borne for his ability to pass texts and Gérard Larcher for his ability to hold his majority." This opinion was not contradicted by the head of the PS group, Patrick Kanner. "The centrists didn't hold any dikes. They abdicated in the face of the right. We are witnessing a 'Darmaninisation' of the text and a recomposition of the right on its hardest fundamentals," he said.
The AME is a red rag that is being waved by part of LR and the RN. But this is nonsense when it comes to public health!
Frédéric Valletoux, Member of Parliament for Horizons
The bill, which therefore has a good chance of being adopted next Tuesday in the formal vote, is expected to be examined in the Assembly from 11 December. And the routes seem much more difficult at the Palais Bourbon. Since the agreement between LR and the centrists, and even more so since the vote to abolish the AME, some Macronists are already beginning to make themselves heard. In an interview with Le Figaro, the president of the law commission, Sacha Houlié, evokes an "incomprehensible" decision of the Senate on the AME. Horizons MP Frédéric Valletoux attacked him: "The AME is a red rag that is being waved by part of LR and the RN. But that's public health nonsense!"
The leader of the LR senators, Bruno Retailleau, sent a letter to MPs on Wednesday. "I say that the text that will be voted on in the Senate is right-wing. (...) I am well aware that for you, the battle will be difficult and delicate. (...) You can count on my full support (...) and I am at your disposal to exchange if you wish," he wrote. This is a way of trying to avoid the divisions that the right experienced at the Palais Bourbon last March, during the pension reform. While the Senate majority was once again almost perfectly aligned.