after the adoption of the immigration law, the after-sales service of a majority deputy on the ground

A few days after the vote on the immigration law in the National Assembly, certain deputies went to meet the inhabitants of their constituency.

Article written by

France Info – Luc Chemla – Edited by Audrey Abraham

Radio France

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Pierre Cazeneuve (right) in Saint-Cloud, December 22, 2023 (LUC CHEMLA / RADIOFRANCE)

After the tumult in the National Assembly and the vote on the immigration law at the start of the week, some deputies are back on the ground. This is the case of Pierre Cazeneuve, majority deputy for the 7th constituency of Hauts-de-Seine, near Paris. He voted in favor of the text, he returned at the end of the week to contact the population. Friday, the elected official was, for example, in Saint-Cloud.

The atmosphere is festive in front of the entrance to a school in Saint-Cloud. To the rhythm of Christmas songs and while a snack is organized, the MP goes to meet the residents. If most do not dare to question him, they know his vote on the immigration law. So those who, from the start, have been in favor of the text, support its choice. “He did what he had to do because I would have voted for it too, so he did the job he had to do,” greets Hakim. “When there is a law that is presented which concerns the concerns of a lot of French people, it is normal for the deputies to vote favorably. Something had to be done, there was no point in rejecting the text to have a even greater crisis”adds Patrice.

“I find this text quite shameful”

For her part, Mélanie is opposed to the bill but this mother wants to be understanding: “I can’t blame anyone since everyone has their own opinions. I have my own opinion but then I can understand that opinions differ.”

Olivier’s opinion is very clear: “I find this text quite shameful to tell the truth. I find that it is not in France’s welcoming tradition.” However, he too assures that he has no criticism to make of his deputy: “I read in the newspapers that he had shown a certain embarrassment so I can imagine that it must not have been easy for them to swallow their reluctance and still vote for this text. I understand in at the same time that it was important that a text be passed. Politics is also about getting our hands dirty. We are not all pure souls.”

Shared reactions

In the words of Pierre Cazeneuve, the return to the field since the vote has gone rather well. The MP adds that residents still came to talk to him about it: “Those who come to see me like that, it’s more to get a message of compassion like ‘Oh my, you must be very tired after everything that happened.’ And then, yes, there are people who came to challenge me in a fairly negative way on the subject, saying to me ‘You have broken with your values’ and so the same must be explained to them. There are people who were happy in saying ‘Finally you got off your ass on the subject.’ Between these different reactions we see that there is a balance.” The MP assures that despite the holidays he will continue, in the coming days, to go out into the field to meet residents.


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