French government to propose tougher immigration laws in 2025

The French government will propose a new immigration law in 2025 that will extend the period during which migrants in an irregular situation and deemed dangerous can be held in administrative detention, government spokeswoman Maud Bregeon said on Sunday.

The last immigration law, which came into force in January 2024, was the subject of heated debate. The party of President Emmanuel Macron, which had a relative majority at the time, pushed through the law due to the far-right National Rally's abstention, though some of the proposals put forward by the right-wing MPs were rejected by the Constitutional Council.

For 2025, however, “there will be a need for a new immigration law’ in 2025,” said government spokeswoman Maud Bregeon on Sunday morning on BFM TV. 

This time, the new government, led by Prime Minister Michel Barnier and with the influential right-wing Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau (LR, Les Républicains), wants to reverse the law.

Since taking office, Retailleau has advocatesd stricter EU rules and an overhaul of Schengen area rules. On Thursday in Luxembourg, he even urged his EU counterparts to implement the asylum and immigration pact, currently scheduled for 2026.

Longer detention periods

According to the government spokeswoman, the new text would consider Retailleau's proposal to ‘facilitate the extension of detention of illegal foreign nationals who present dangerous profiles in administrative detention centres’.

This would extend detention from a maximum of 90 days to 210 days - a proposal put forward by right-wing MPs from Laurent Wauquiez's Droite républicaine group at the end of September.

Bregeon also warned that the government's next text could include elements condemned by the Constitutional Council in the last law - such as tightening up on family reunification. She also spoke of including the regularisation of undocumented workers in areas with a severe labour shortage.

“We're not stopping ourselves from thinking about other provisions that could be proposed in this law,” added Bregeon.

The text will be discussed with the National Assembly and Senate parliamentary groups.

“We will not be seeking the support of the Rassemblement National,” she warned.

The Rassemblement National, which abstained last time, has already made its refusal to censure the Barnier government conditional on the drafting of a new immigration law.

(Hugo Struna | Euractiv.fr)