PARIS – In a major development, French President Emmanuel Macron confirmed that he would offer proposals to widen referendums in the country to permit a possible ballot on immigration.
The development comes after demands by conservatives and the far right rose to a crescendo and Macron has now promised a detailed proposal “in the coming weeks.”
The president in his promise in a letter to party leaders comes after a 12-hour meeting last week designed to break deadlock amongst he lawmakers; Macron’s supporters have no majority but interestingly no alternative bloc exists.
That would “allow us to continue our talks, which I hope will reach a conclusion when we next meet” in the autumn, Macron vowed in the letter.
The president, who has garnered enough spotlight over the issue, wrote that the law would be debated in parliament “from this autumn” ahead of any possible public vote.
There are “known disagreements” on the subject but “it cannot be avoided,” he added.
It bears mentioning that Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne will be tasked with presenting additional proposals for institutional reform. These may encompass initiatives such as decentralizing France’s traditionally Paris-focused administration and potentially implementing a form of proportional representation in parliament.
The French president has been in the news over the issue of immigration. A few days earlier, the President revealed his priorities for the coming months, announcing the government’s intention to ‘significantly reduce immigration, starting with illegal immigration’
Macron had said that his government would when parliament returns after the summer recess, table a bill on cutting immigration after several false starts.
The French government has an immigration bill that has been delayed multiple times because it has been judged “too divisive”, although Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin hopes to reintroduce it in the autumn.
