French union calls for 'civil disobedience' over new immigration law
A French union boss has called for 'civil disobedience' over the country's controversial new immigration law, while 32 local authorities say they will refuse to apply the new rules.
France's new immigration law caused deep divides within Emmanuel Macron's own party, but was passed in parliament on Tuesday night after a majority of MPs voted in favour of it.
Migrant quotas to language tests - what's in France's new immigration bill?
Macron himself went on TV on Wednesday night to deny that the bill is a victory for the far-right, saying it is the "shield that we need" and adding that the government will now stand by the law and "calm tensions".
But the controversy is not over, on Thursday morning Sophie Binet, head of the hardline CGT union, called for "civil disobedience" to protest over the bill.
She added that the union is also considering "multiplying actions of resistance against this law", which she said "profoundly challenges all our republican principles and rolls out the red carpet for the far right."
Meanwhile local authorities in 32 départements, including Paris and Gironde, have said that they will refuse to apply new laws on benefits for foreigners.
The new law limits access to benefits such as housing allowance and family allowance for foreigners - non-French nationals will have to have lived in France for five years in order to access these benefits, or 30 months for people who are working.
The Allocation personnalisée d'autonomie (APA) benefits are administered on a local level, however, and 32 left-leaning préfectures have announced that they will not restrict access to non-French nationals.
Their joint statement reads: "We, the presidents of left-wing départements, reject the application of the section concerning APA of this law inspired by the far-right, carried by an executive which claimed to embody moderation and which is now no more than the illustration of compromise."
A statement from the Paris town hall said that they would "apply the rights and constitutional principles of our country. The city of Paris will not practice national preference over APA allocation".
Some towns also saw small demonstrations against the bill on Wednesday including 2,500 people in Rennes and several hundred in Avignon, Besançon and Cerbourg.
Towns including Limoges, Rouen and Caen have demos planned for Thursday.
On a political level, the bill must still be approved by the Conseil constitutionnel - with political experts predicting that several sections (including the idea of annual migrant quotas) could be either modified or thrown out by the council.
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France's new immigration law caused deep divides within Emmanuel Macron's own party, but was passed in parliament on Tuesday night after a majority of MPs voted in favour of it.
Migrant quotas to language tests - what's in France's new immigration bill?
Macron himself went on TV on Wednesday night to deny that the bill is a victory for the far-right, saying it is the "shield that we need" and adding that the government will now stand by the law and "calm tensions".
But the controversy is not over, on Thursday morning Sophie Binet, head of the hardline CGT union, called for "civil disobedience" to protest over the bill.
She added that the union is also considering "multiplying actions of resistance against this law", which she said "profoundly challenges all our republican principles and rolls out the red carpet for the far right."
Meanwhile local authorities in 32 départements, including Paris and Gironde, have said that they will refuse to apply new laws on benefits for foreigners.
The new law limits access to benefits such as housing allowance and family allowance for foreigners - non-French nationals will have to have lived in France for five years in order to access these benefits, or 30 months for people who are working.
The Allocation personnalisée d'autonomie (APA) benefits are administered on a local level, however, and 32 left-leaning préfectures have announced that they will not restrict access to non-French nationals.
Their joint statement reads: "We, the presidents of left-wing départements, reject the application of the section concerning APA of this law inspired by the far-right, carried by an executive which claimed to embody moderation and which is now no more than the illustration of compromise."
A statement from the Paris town hall said that they would "apply the rights and constitutional principles of our country. The city of Paris will not practice national preference over APA allocation".
Some towns also saw small demonstrations against the bill on Wednesday including 2,500 people in Rennes and several hundred in Avignon, Besançon and Cerbourg.
Towns including Limoges, Rouen and Caen have demos planned for Thursday.
On a political level, the bill must still be approved by the Conseil constitutionnel - with political experts predicting that several sections (including the idea of annual migrant quotas) could be either modified or thrown out by the council.
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