Emmanuel Macron’s strict plan for law and order in France, what is the new immigration bill?

French MPs will decide whether to curtail any debate over the government’s immigration bill, effectively sending major legislation back to the drawing board. The immigration bill has been a key plank of President Emmanuel Macron’s efforts to show he can be tough on law and order issues while keeping France’s doors open to foreign workers who can help the French economy.

Lacking a majority in parliament, he has struggled to pass a bill that contains strict provisions disliked by left-wing lawmakers and more liberal aspects criticized by some conservatives and the far right.

Opposition parties such as the conservative Les Republicans are under pressure to approve a bill that broadly reflects their party’s long-term position on immigration, but they are reluctant to hand the government a political victory. The Green Party has introduced a motion that will be reviewed later on Monday and rejects the bill before discussion can begin in the lower house, embarrassing the bill’s defender, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin.

Darminin, who has ambitions to run for the next presidential election in 2027, said on Europe 1 radio on Monday that this would be a denial of democracy. Other opposition parties, such as Marine Le Pen’s Rassemblement National, have not yet said whether they will support that proposal.