The Brief – France’s dirty talk on immigration

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Newly appointed Home Affairs minister Bruno Retailleau has outshone his colleagues with tough immigration talk that mimics arguments from the far right, vowing to take the fight to Brussels, with Michel Barnier’s tacit approval.

Some thought that putting together a government, some 70-something days after the snap elections results laid bare a French parliamentary scene more fractured than ever, would end the political crisis.

Others predicted it was only the beginning.

The latter were right.

In the nine days since Barnier introduced his 38-minister-strong government, one issue has made it to the heart of political conversations with far-right undertones that are hard to ignore: immigration.

The man at the centre of this media storm is new Home Affairs Minister Bruno Retailleau, who has been maximising his airtime to push through an immigration narrative that, in many ways, echoes that of the far-right Rassemblement National (RN).

“Just like millions of French people, I think immigration is not good luck,” he said in a one-hour-long interview on Sunday evening, expressing regrets that the French constitution doesn’t allow for a referendum on immigration – which he would be very keen to organise.

He even took aim at the core principle of the rule of law, which enshrines the separation of executive, legislative, and judicial branches of power, arguing that they are “neither intangible nor sacred.”

“The source of the rule of law is democracy and the sovereign people,” he told far-right weekly Le Journal du Dimanche.

If the people so choose, then the rule of law must change – that is his jist.

That was enough for the political bubble to burst and rock the just-nascent coalition government hard. Retailleau was compelled to push out a tight-lipped press release, blaming “false debates” and making the case that “Today, the law no longer sufficiently protects French people”.

What is more, the minister is willing to take the fight up to Brussels.

He wants a revamp of the ‘returns directive’, and to take external border protection measures laid out in the Migration Pact up a notch. Schengen agreements must be changed, too.

He is also keen to see how far the EU – with France in the driver’s seat – can go in forcing countries of origin to open their borders back to their nationals who made it to the Schengen area irregularly.

He is ready to trigger three levers: severing visa distribution, including for political leaders; blocking development aid; and using economic security tools, like tariffs, for the most recalcitrant.

This, in essence, amounts to a cannibalisation of trade practices for immigration purposes.

And this might be more than just wishful thinking. After all, Macron’s Renaissance party, which French Commissioner-designate in charge of economic security Stéphane Séjourné is still at the helm of, is a member of this very coalition government.

This is the kind of immigration narrative at the government level, that has hardly been heard of in modern French political history—setting the tone for an executive administration that is more right-wing than ever on these issues.

It is also – and Barnier knows it – a tool to gain the far-right’s trust, so badly needed for the coalition government to survive, given the current parliamentary arithmetic. Only if the RN abstains from a vote of no-confidence can the government keep afloat.

Even if core Republican principles such as the rule of law are toyed with, that might be worth a shot in the name of political survival.

“When we listen to Retailleau, we have the feeling he is a spokesperson for the RN,” far-right MP Laure Lavalette said on Tuesday.

This might explain why Barnier—who held very similar policy stances when he ran for the conservative Les Républicains primaries in late 2021—has given quiet consent to Retailleau setting the media agenda.

In a grand speech in front of lawmakers on Tuesday, he called on all political leaders – but in reality, the right side of the aisle – to “get out of the ideological impasse on immigration.”

For the rest, the wording on future immigration policy remained evasive and high-level, so the leverage and wiggle room for Retailleau is large.

In the words of French Renew member of the European Parliament and migration expert Fabienne Keller, whom I was speaking to last night: “It is giving Retailleau free rein.”

The Roundup

As Europeans scramble to find a unified response to the escalating tensions in the Middle East, the failure to publish a joint statement on Lebanon has yet again laid bare disagreements between EU member states vis-à-vis Israel.

Political leaders in the European Parliament will decide on Wednesday (2 October) which parliamentary committees will hear which commissioners designate and establish a timetable for the upcoming hearings.

French Prime Minister Michel Barnier presented his energy and climate programme to MPs in the National Assembly on Tuesday (1 October), with commentators concerned he announced impact assessments for renewables, not nuclear.

A fight over key positions in the European Parliament’s research panel and working groups has sparked a major spat between influential lawmakers from the centre-right EPP and the Greens.

Look out for…

EPRS organises in Brussels a hybrid forum on the “8th Comparative Law Forum: Freedom to conduct a business”
EPRS will also launch in Brussels the online book “How speeches can bring trust in democracy”
EPC organises in Brussels a conference titled “Healthy longevity: Preparing the EU for demographic change”
EPPA organises in Brussels a conference debate titled “European Defence at a crossroads: time for a stronger European industry policy – The Ukraine ‘drôle de guerre’ is nothing to laugh at for Europe.”
The European Parliament will show its analysis of the post-electoral Eurobarometer 2024.
European Commission Vice-President Margaritis Schinas and European Commissioner Ylva Johansson are in Mirabella Enclano, Italy, attending the G7 Ministers meeting.
At the G7 Commissioner Johansson will meet UK Secretary of State for the Home Department Yvette Cooper.
The Court of Justice of the European Union will release a series of rulings concerning cases relating to issues in Lithuania, Romania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Hungary, Malta and Poland.
European Commissioner Jutta Urpilainen visits Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, to participate in the ministerial launch of the Trans-Caspian Transport Corridor Coordination Platform with the central Asian partners. She will also meet the President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov, and Foreign Affairs Minister Rashid Meredov.
European Commissioner Iliana Ivanova Ivanova meets with Luxembourg Minister for Research and Higher Education Stéphanie Obertin.
European Commissioner Vĕra Jourová is in Isla de La Toja, Spain, and participates in the La Toja Forum.
European Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič meets with Prime Minister of Slovakia, Robert Fico, in Bratislava, Slovakia. He will also meet Economics Minister Denisa Saková.
European Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski is in Chisinau, Moldova, attending an official dinner of the business and policy networking event “EU 4 Farmers”.
European Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi meets Montenegro Minister of Justice Bojan Bozovic.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen meets the CEOs of several leading European innovation and startup hubs, in Brussels, Belgium.