French gov’t wants new immigration law in 2025

PARIS

The French authorities want to adopt a new immigration law next year, a spokeswoman said, as the new right-wing government seeks to crack down on immigration.

"There will be a need for a new law," government spokeswoman Maud Bregeon told broadcaster BFMTV on Oct. 13.

The government's plan to tighten immigration policies and border controls is emblematic of the rightward shift in French politics following this summer's legislative elections that resulted in a hung parliament.

Michel Barnier's government hopes the bill will be submitted to parliament at the beginning of 2025.

In September, a Paris student was raped and murdered in a case that has further inflamed a French debate on migration after a Moroccan was named as the suspected attacker.

The government wants to extend the detention period for undocumented migrants deemed to be dangerous in order to better enforce expulsion orders.

One of the options under consideration is to increase the maximum period of detention from 90 to 210 days, which is now only possible for terrorist offenses.

"We don't rule out the possibility of considering other provisions", said Bregeon, adding that there should be "no taboos when it comes to protecting the French."

Last December, France already passed an immigration law.

The bill was hardened to gain the support of the far-right and right-wing MPs.

But the country's highest constitutional authority censured most of the new amendments which were dropped before President Emmanuel Macron signed it into law.

The measures struck down by the Constitutional Council "will serve as a basis for the new immigration bill", a government source told AFP. "Some of them could be modified and there will be additions."