French right-wing MPs want referendum to ‘control’ immigration

There needs to be a referendum on immigration to regain control of migration policy, according to two right-wing Les Républicains party lawmakers who speak of a context of migratory chaos.

Migration issues are a hot topic in France, particularly after Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was “incapable” of controlling the migratory phenomenon.

In an article published in the Journal du Dimanche on Sunday, MPs Aurélien Pradié and Pierre-Henri Dumont said they want to regain control of migration policy, recognising that the quota policy, long defended by the right, “is not up to the challenge”.

Besides, denouncing a “major political resignation” in a context of “migratory chaos” which “is gradually taking hold in the daily lives of our fellow citizens”, the two say more needs to be done in the field of migration.

Among their proposals, the two want to “improve the rate of return of illegal immigrants”, notably “by automatically freezing the delivery of visas, residence permits, money transfers and public development aid for any country that does not grant at least 50% of the consular passes necessary for expulsion.”

According to the pair, migrants must prove they reside in the country legally to have access to benefits such as housing assistance and the minimum old age pension.

The two are also proposing to re-introduce a measure that would see the expulsion of non-French citizens if they received a criminal conviction and served their sentence.

“Refusing to take back control of migration is to let the national pact crack,” tweeted Pradié on Sunday.

However, the referendum proposal has already been criticised, including by Senate President Gerard Larcher of the same Les Républicains party.

“I cannot be in favour of it because it is constitutionally impossible,” he explained on RTL.

In particular, he recalled that such a referendum was reserved for the organisation of public powers, social, economic and environmental policy, not for migration issues.

Besides, for the referendum to be voted on by the people, it needs the support of at least 185 parliamentarians and one-tenth of the voters (4.87 million). It must also be validated by the Constitutional Council.

Since it was made possible to introduce such referendums in 2015, none have been successful, including the one recently filed by the left against the pension reform.

Pradié and Dumont, also opposed to the pension reform, will have to file this request for a referendum in the coming weeks.

(Hugo Struna | EURACTIV.fr)