French President Emmanuel Macron will make a proposal to political parties a simplification of the use of referendumsThis allowed for an eventual consultation on the sensitive issue of immigration, demanded by the right and the far right.
The announcement comes in a letter he sent on Thursday to the leaders of the main political parties, with whom he met on August 30 to try to converge the ruling party’s positions There is a lack of an absolute majority in the National Assembly.
In his letter, the centrist president announces a proposal “in the coming weeks” to expand the scope of referendums following constitutional reform It could also be about immigration.
Immigration has been high on the political agenda in recent months. Macron’s government has submitted a proposal to tighten conditions for irregular immigrants, but allows the temporary legalization of those already working in sectors where there is a labor shortage.
It is the right-wing opposition with which the governing party usually achieves majorities in parliament against this last measure. In his six-page letter, the president indicated that the bill would be debated starting in the fall and acknowledged that there are “known differences of opinion” over immigration but that the issue “cannot be avoided.”
In a recent interview with the weekly newspaper Le PointMacron reiterated his wish “Significantly reduce immigration”.
As in all European countries, the issue of immigration is very sensitive in France, where more than twenty laws on the subject have been passed in the last 40 years.
