Far-right hails 'ideological victory' as France passes hardline immigration bill

The strict new law has been condemned by left-wing politicians as well as NGOs.

Transcript

00:00 After months of fiery debate, French lawmakers have passed a controversial bill tightening

00:08 rules on immigration. The new law was backed by both President Emmanuel Macron's centrist

00:14 Renaissance party and Marine Le Pen's far-right national rally. Politicians on the left accused

00:20 Mr Macron of giving in to the far-right. Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin whipped up support

00:27 for the bill, saying it would benefit legal migrants and protect French workers.

00:52 The bill, which had been redrafted and made tougher as right-wing parties had demanded,

00:58 prompted Marine Le Pen to claim it as a victory for the far-right.

01:02 The new legislation makes it more difficult for migrants to bring family members to France

01:20 and delays their access to welfare benefits, among other measures. Mr Macron's centrist

01:26 party lost its parliamentary majority in elections in June 2022. Since then, the government has

01:32 had difficulty winning votes in Parliament.

01:35 [SWOOSH]