France’s highest constitutional court on Thursday rejected more than a third of the provisions of a controversial immigration bill that was passed under pressure from the far right.
According to the French news agency AFP, the court rejected in particular the provisions that would have reduced social benefits and family reunification, as well as a system of quotas for immigration to be set by parliament.
The court upheld the rest of the bill, which was originally proposed by the government of President Emmanuel Macron, but it criticized the amendments that were added at the behest of the right and far right. French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin praised the court’s decision.
But Jordan Bardella, the leader of the far-right National Rally party, criticized what he called a “coup by judges with the support of the president.” Bardella called for a referendum on immigration as the “only solution.”
The court rejected 32 of the 86 amendments on the grounds that they were not relevant to the subject of the bill. However, these amendments could be accepted later as part of other different legislation.
The constitutional court also partially or completely rejected three other amendments because of their spirit, and partially rejected parliament setting quotas for immigrants.
