House Left Member, Eric Ciotti, Advocates for Recognition of Foreign Marriages with His Bill
Wanna ban undocumented foreigners from tying the knot with a Frenchy? Some on the left think it's a bitchin' idea to ban feelings, happy times, or complicate the bliss. But during a ruckus in the French Assembly on June 26th, the left, greens, and socialist dudes went head-to-head with the National Rally and Eric Ciotti's teensy Union of Democrats for the Republic (UDR). Ciotti failed earlier in the day to cancel immediate penalties for ineligibility, a favor to his buddy Marine Le Pen. So, he tried to use his little parliamentary nook to snag the immigrants, as he saw it, who were exploiting marriage as a shortcut to immigration. But the debate was way more about politics than it was about love.
The right-wing UDR and their buddy, Rassemblement National (RN), argued that allowing unauthorized immigrants to marry French citizens was legitimizing fraud. Essentially, they thought marriage was turning into a loophole or a "passport" for those breaking immigration rules, as conservative MP Hervé de Lépinau expressed[1].
On the other hand, Macron's centrist MPs, along with left-wing parties, opposed the bill. They didn't want to look like they supported the RN, so they either voted against it or held back, fearing they'd help the RN by playing into their hands[1]. Some right-wing LR MPs were absent, while the left was fully against it, making the bill a no-go. LR MP Laurent Ciotti criticized the perceived alliance between his party and Macronism, while being backed by the far Left[1].
In the end, the bill got pulled before the vote. Critics claimed it showed a collusion between the weak right, center, and left, eager to block such reforms rather than legitimizing the far-right agenda[1]. Instead, they'd rather avoid touching this "touchy" subject, putting politics over policy.
Long story short, it's all about controlling immigration and preventing marriage fraud versus a political tug-of-war to avoid appearing endorsing the far-right. The opposition's arguments hinged on not wanting to help the RN succeed and preserving political alliances over policy changes.
*The policy-and-legislation debate regarding the proposed ban for undocumented foreigners to marry French citizens is shaped more by politics than by love, as demonstrated in the French Assembly.* The general-news story unfolds as a political tug-of-war, with the right-wing UDR and Rassemblement National advocating for stricter immigration policies to prevent marriage fraud, while centrist MPs and left-wing parties oppose the bill to avoid seeming supportive of the far-right agenda.
