Gérald Darmanin reaches out to LR. In an interview with Le Parisien, Saturday May 27, the Minister of the Interior responds to the proposals on immigration made in Le Journal du Dimanche by the leaders of LR, Eric Ciotti (party president), Olivier Marleix and Bruno Retailleau (bosses groups in the National Assembly and the Senate). “Chiche, let’s work together!” “Launches the minister, reacting to the very tough bills of the Republicans, one of which plans to include in the Constitution the possibility of derogating from the treaties and European law on immigration.
“There will be no agreement at any price. Everyone must take a step, ”said Mr. Darmanin, recalling that there are sixty LR deputies in the Assembly. Alone, they are not able to have their proposals adopted, and the government for its part does not have an absolute majority to have its own text voted on. “We can keep our text, already adopted by the Senate Law Commission, by discussing together the amendments to modify it. Would the LRs absolutely want us to reintroduce a new piece of legislation together? We are ready for it if it is discussed with centrists and radicals,” he said.
Among the LR proposals that he retains, Mr. Darmanin cites “the conditioning of visas, with the modulation of development aid to the countries concerned, the implementation of consular passes, the discussion around unaccompanied minors , the 360-degree control of applications for residence permits”. He also says he is ready to lead discussions on the opening of social benefits from five years of residence in France.
red lines
On the other hand, freeing oneself from the European treaties would be “a migratory Frexit”, insists the minister. Faced with Eric Ciotti’s party, which opposes it, he defends “the regularization of immigrant workers, who respect our values ??and have worked on our territory for several years”, stressing that “the French are in favor of it, including on the right “. On the introduction of quotas, “we have already said that we are ready to study these proposals. But be careful, on the right of asylum, for example, it is impossible to put quotas, ”warns Mr. Darmanin.
As for the proposal that asylum requests be made outside the territory, “this measure is inapplicable”, he decides, “unless you get out of the 1951 Geneva Convention and delete paragraph 4 of the preamble to the Constitution of the Fifth Republic. Anyone seeking asylum has the right to seek asylum in the territory of the Republic. Even Denmark ultimately does not. No country enforces this.”
In terms of timing, “what is important is that in October we discussed a text in the Senate, then in November or December in the National Assembly,” said Mr. Darmanin.