First green light in the Assembly. THEs deputies of the Law Committee voted, on the night of Friday December 1st to Saturday December 2nd, a revised version of the government’s immigration bill. They returned to the harshest measures added to the text during its examination in the Senate, in particular by restoring state medical aid (AME), abolished by the upper house.
After a week of examination in committee, the text was adopted thanks to the votes of the presidential camp and Liot deputies, despite opposition from the left and the RN. In total, 35 votes were in favor, and 16 votes against, specifies LCP. “It is a great satisfaction. The government will continue to listen to convince”immediately reacted the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, on. The text will then be examined from December 11 in a public session at the National Assembly. Here’s what the latest version of the project contains.
The restoration of state medical aid
Unsurprisingly, the deputies restored state medical aid, which allows access to care for undocumented immigrants who have been in France for more than three months. This system, which has existed since 2000, allows foreigners in an irregular situation to benefit from 100% coverage of medical and hospital care, financed by the State, “within the limits of Social Security rates”specifies the official website of the French administration.
During its examination in November, the Senate voted for an amendment removing the AME, to replace it with emergency medical aid. This reform would have reduced the range of reimbursed care, to limit it to serious illnesses, care related to pregnancy, vaccinations and preventive medicine examinations.
A “compromise” on regularizations in professions in tension
This is the most emblematic part of the project defended by the government. Article 3 of the initial text presented by the government provided that undocumented people exercising certain professions “in shortage” could obtain a residence permit with a validity of one year, renewable, if they demonstrated three years of presence in France and eight pay slips. But the right had obtained the deletion of the article during its examination in the Senate, where it is in the majority.
Instead, the senatorial majority of the right and the center agreed on a new article 4 bis, providing for a residence permit “exceptional” for workers in sectors with labor shortages. It must be possible to request it by the worker, without the agreement or endorsement of the employer, and issued by the prefect.
In committee, the deputies adopted another version, presented as a new “compromise” by regulating the power of the prefect. He could always oppose the issuance of the residence permit in the event of a threat to public order, non-respect of the values of the Republic or polygamy. An experimental phase of the measure would end at the end of 2028, and no longer at the end of 2026.
Deletion of a file of unaccompanied minor offenders
The commission also deleted article 11 ter, which created a national file of delinquent unaccompanied minors, reports LCP. Initially, the text modified by the Senate provided that in order to “facilitate the identification of minors” suspected of having participated “as perpetrators or accomplices” to infractions, “fingerprints as well as a photograph” of these can be noted.
“We are not talking at all about discrimination or generalized surveillance”defended RN MP Edwige Diaz in committee. “We especially talk about protecting the French.” “Such a file does not seem appropriate”, retorted the rapporteur and Horizons MP Philippe Pradal. “The AEM file [mineurs étrangers non accompagnés] already contains information on unaccompanied minors, and the TAJ [traitement d’antécédents judiciaires] does not provide for age limits in registering people, so this file would be useless.”
The ban on the detention of minors
The deputies voted to ban the placement in administrative detention centers of all minors. The bill tabled by the government initially limited this ban to minors under 16 years of age. The amendment was adopted with the favorable opinion of the Minister of the Interior. Gérald Darmanin, who defended a “human measure”. “This is a very strong step forward for children’s rights in this country”welcomed MoDem deputy Erwan Balanant.
Facilitating the expulsion of foreigners convicted or under OQTF
The situation of foreigners considered dangerous has returned to the heart of debates with the Arras attack, in which the suspect benefited from a regime of protection against expulsion. During the examination of the text in committee, the deputies validated the facilitation of the expulsion of foreigners in a regular situation convicted of certain crimes and offenses, as well as foreigners in an irregular situation subject to an obligation to leave the French territory (OQTF), underlines LCP.
The initial text planned to remove most protections against expulsion for certain immigrants, in particular people who arrived in France before the age of 13 or who have been in the territory for more than twenty years. During its examination in the Senate, these provisions were tightened. An amendment, tabled by the government, thus added to these provisions the authors of a “deliberate and particularly serious violation of the principles of the Republic”.
Restoration of emergency accommodation for undocumented immigrants
The deputies restored access to emergency accommodation for foreigners in an irregular situation, which the Senate wanted to confine to “exceptional circumstances”. An article specifying that those refused asylum must leave it, however, is maintained.
“We are still dealing with an article that could be described as scoundrel and petty”denounced the environmentalist deputy Benjamin Lucas before the vote. “You have someone sleeping outside, we take them to safety. Period.” also defended the communist Elsa Faucillon.
Facilitated access to work for certain asylum seekers
As provided for in the government’s text, applicants whose nationality indicates a strong chance of obtaining asylum (Afghans, Syrians, Eritreans, etc.) will be able to access the job market without waiting for the six-month deadline today in force. A measure deleted by the Senate and reintroduced by the deputies.
A one-year residence permit, instead of six months, will be issued to people, mainly women, who stop prostitution and embark on a path of social and professional integration.
A reform of the National Court of Asylum
The deputies also adopted a broad reform of the National Court of Asylum (CNDA). The text aims to deconcentrate it through territorial chambers. To the great dismay of the left, it also establishes the principle of decisions by single judge, collegiality being rather reserved for cases deemed complex, except for minors.
Rewriting the article on immigration “quotas”
MEPs have largely revised an article which provided for Parliament to set immigration quotas each year. Despite opposition from the right, it was transformed into an obligation for the government to present and justify every year to Parliament “quantified objectives” for the next three years. The left still denounced a step towards a strict quota policy.
The hardening of land law in Mayotte
A child born in Mayotte will be French if both parents have been in a legal situation for at least one year at the time of his birth, provides for an amendment adopted in committee at the Assembly. Family reunification on the archipelago will also be limited to the nuclear family. The MP for Mayotte (Liot) Estelle Youssouffa defended this measure: “We are in Mayotte facing migratory pressure which is organized by a neighboring country [les Comores]which uses and instrumentalizes its population, and uses our own laws against us”she estimated.