The Prime Minister indicated that he wanted to “apply the rules to better control immigration”, while explaining that there will “perhaps be changes to the law if necessary”.
“It’s me who sets the line” on immigration, and “there will be rigorous measures to control it”, Michel Barnier assured this Thursday, October 3 on France 2 after controversial remarks by the Minister of Interior Bruno Retailleau, particularly on the rule of law.
“It’s obviously an opportunity to be able to integrate (immigrants),” he declared, referring to “athletes, musicians, entrepreneurs who set an example and who are well integrated.”
The Prime Minister seemed to rule out the idea of a new law on immigration, as demanded by the leader of the National Rally deputies Marine Le Pen.
“I’m not going to announce laws in advance,” he said, but “maybe there will be changes to the law if necessary.”
“We have just legislated (in December 2023, Editor’s note), we are going to apply the rules to better control immigration, to welcome those we want to welcome and those who have the right to be welcomed with us because they are refugees,” he explained.
“Better manage” State Medical Aid
He still considered that there was “possible progress within the framework of the current law” and that there would be “rigorous measures to control immigration, to better control European borders”.
“We will control our immigration and we will be able to welcome those we welcome with more dignity,” he added.
Michel Barnier refused to “engage in major ideological debates”. He considered himself “lucky” to have been able to put in place a “government composed of pluralism (…), of men and women who do not all come from the same place”, quoting his minister of Interior, Bruno Retailleau, and that of Justice, Didier Migaud, with different sensitivities on the subject.
Asked about State Medical Aid (AME) allowing undocumented immigrants to access care, a system whose scope Bruno Retailleau wishes to reduce, Michel Barnier estimated that we “can manage (it) better”. “It’s a broader question, we will look at things calmly so that those who are entitled to it can receive it,” he added.
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