Immigration law: Darmanin wants to “improve” the article on the regularization of foreign workers

The government will not reintroduce to the National Assembly "as is" article 3 of its immigration bill, deleted and replaced by a harsher version by the senators, assured the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin on France 2 this Thursday, November 30. This measure, contested by the right, provided for the regularization of foreign workers in professions in shortage.

The new article 4bis introduced to the Senate provides in these sectors of activity for residence permits granted “exceptionally” and “on a case-by-case basis” by the prefects. It deserves to be “improved”, according to Gérald Darmanin, who indicated that the government would support the proposal of the rapporteur (Renaissance) of the bill to the Assembly, Florent Boudié, “to modify the text of the Senate” without returning to the initial article to “respect” the upper house of Parliament.

This new version would provide for “having a measure of regularization of people who work” with “prefects who could oppose regularizations”, for example of workers who have a “criminal record”.

The Interior Minister, however, welcomed other “very valid” changes made by senators to the bill. “For example, we want a French exam to have a residence permit in France. The Senate added an examination on the values ​​of the Republic. I think we can absolutely accept this proposal.”

There remains the thorny subject of state medical aid (AME) which senators transformed into “emergency medical aid” in an article introduced into the bill, deleted during its passage in the Laws Committee. Assembly. “There is undoubtedly a subject, but it will not be in this law,” decided Gérald Darmanin, who evokes a “legislative rider” (unrelated to the subject of the bill) who would be rebutted by the Constitutional Council. The minister recalls, however, that a report on the AME must be submitted to the government on December 4, to open the debate.