On Thursday, the French Senate approved a bill aimed at prohibiting undocumented migrants from marrying in France as part of the government’s crackdown on illegal immigration. The bill, supported by immigration hardliners including Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau and Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin, passed its first reading in the Senate with 227 votes in favor and 110 against. The legislation now moves to the National Assembly for further consideration.
The move is part of broader efforts by French authorities to tighten immigration controls and policies, reflecting the rightward shift in French politics following the indecisive results of last summer’s legislative elections.
The bill is designed to combat fraudulent marriages and close loopholes that allow migrants to obtain residency or citizenship through marriage. However, it contradicts a 2003 ruling by the French Constitutional Council, which stated that a foreigner’s irregular status should not prevent them from marrying.
Green Party Senator Mélanie Vogel criticized the bill, calling it “a full-scale attack on the Constitution,” while Socialist Corinne Narassiguin argued that the proposal fueled “anxiety-provoking xenophobia and racism.”
The legislation was introduced following a 2023 court case in which a mayor from northern France was sued by a former mosque leader for refusing to officiate the man’s marriage. The mosque leader was later deported. Additionally, the Senate vote came shortly after the mayor of Beziers, Robert Menard, was summoned by prosecutors for refusing to officiate a wedding between a French woman and an undocumented Algerian man in 2023. Under French law, all marriages must be officiated in city halls.
AFP
