Macron faces 'END of reign' as France rebels at mass immigration after SHOCK migration bill loss

Emmanual Macron facing 'end of his reign' after humiliating immigration defeat

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Millie Cooke

By Millie Cooke


Published: 13/12/2023

- 10:27

Updated: 13/12/2023

- 11:02

The shock loss highlights the French President's seeming inability to govern after losing an absolute majority in the National Assembly last year

Additional reporting by Oliver Trapnell


Emmanual Macron is at risk of being unable to govern France after the National Assembly rejected his flagship immigration bill.

The shocking vote was made was more embarrassing for the government, as lawmakers refused to even debate the text, voting it down in its preliminary vote.



Political analyst Chloé Morin told Politico: "It could mean we are reaching the end of his mandate faster than expected, that we are entering Emmanuel Macron’s end of reign.

"He’s running out of steam, and will find it harder and harder to keep his MPs in check."

WATCH HERE: Protesters burn effigy of Macron 

The shock loss highlights the French President's seeming inability to govern after losing an absolute majority in the National Assembly last year.

While his centrist coalition remains the largest group in the assembly, he no longer has an overall majority.

Such deals have resulted in passing legislation to boost buying power and fight unemployment.

However, when Macron has failed to come to an accord with Les Republicains, he has reached for a constitutional loophole to allow him to pass bills by bypassing parliament.

One example of this was his pension reform legislation to increase the retirement age in France which sparked widespread rioting across the country.

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Gerald Darmanin

Gerald Darmanin has now faced calls to resign

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"The government is reaching the limit of its ‘at the same time’ method," Olivier Marleix, president of the Les Républicains group in the National Assembly told French TV channel LCI.

He added that "the government must choose its team" over Macron’s flip-flopping on hardening or softening the immigration bill.

The rejection of Macron’s immigration bill has already seen opposition parties calling for the resignation of Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin and fresh elections.

Adding to Macron’s humiliation is the fact the bill took months to prepare and was postponed several times following a parliamentary defeat last year.

Marine Le Pen

Marine Le Pen said she was 'delighted' with the result

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The National Assembly backed the motion to reject the bill by 270 votes to 265.

Approving it would have meant more powers to expel undocumented people and improve migrants’ integration into France.

Darmanin told TF1 that the bill was "a failure, obviously" and slammed a coalition of the left and far-right to block the legislation as an "unholy alliance".

He added: "I want to give the police, the gendarmes, the prefects, the magistrates the means to fight against irregular immigration."

However, France’s far-right leader Marine Le Pen said she was "delighted" with the result adding that it had "protected the French from a migratory tidal wave".

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