A Proposal to Wreck Rights in France, Daily Brief, 6 November, 2023.

Trash people’s rights and break up families.

That’s the core of draft immigration law the French Senate will start debating today, and the National Assembly will likely take up next month. Legislators seem to know this bill is flawed already: the government introduced it in February but very quickly postponed debate because of a lack of support in parliament.

No wonder. The bill is a collection of dismal and dangerous proposals. It may not contain any obvious headline provision that would easily grab attention. It’s more like a “death by a thousand cuts” to migrant rights in France.

If adopted, the bill would weaken procedural safeguards for migrants and asylum seekers in a number of seemingly subtle but important ways.

For example, it would change panels hearing asylum appeals in most cases from three judges to one, removing specialist judges from the process. It may seem like a small change, but it would in fact have major impact.

The French Defender of Rights, an independent administrative authority who has heavily criticized the entire bill, said this would likely “deprive applicants of the fundamental procedural guarantees of fair justice, namely the independence and impartiality of justice.”

The bill also reduces the time limits for appeals in various asylum and immigration processes, making it harder for migrants and asylum seekers to gather evidence needed to present their case.

In another section, the draft law contains a provision to withdraw or refuse to renew a residence permit for any person who does not comply with “the principles of the Republic.” What does that mean? It’s code for targeting Muslims, almost surely.

Perhaps the most troubling aspect of the proposed law, however, is how it would allow authorities to break up families.

Currently, there are exemptions to expulsion from the country if a person falls into a protected category. Existing protections relate to personal and family situations, such as for those who arrived in France before the age of 13, have long-term residence in France, or are a spouse or parent of a French national. The new bill threatens these.

Along with many others, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has also criticized the bill, especially this weakening of protections and the way it would hit parents of French children. UNICEF noted it is likely to conflict with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which France has signed, and which protects family life and the principle of non-separation.

France already suffers from abusive migration policies and practices. If adopted, this law would undermine rights further and make things worse.