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PARIS, December 21 In France 75 thousand people took part in protests against the law tightening immigration rules, Franceinfo radio station reported, citing the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
According to information from trade unions co-organizing the demonstrations, 150 thousand citizens took part in them.
The head of the General Confederation of Labor (CGT) trade union, Sophie Binet, reported on the social network X that 25 thousand people took part in the march in Paris, while the prefecture counted 16 thousand participants.
On Sunday, about 160 protests against the new immigration law took place in French cities. On Thursday, the country's Constitutional Council is due to rule on whether the law complies with the French constitution.
Opponents of the new measures are calling for the cancellation of the reform and demanding that the country's President Emmanuel Macron not sign the document.
The French Parliament at the end of December approved the text of a high-profile bill on tightening migration after agreeing on its new version by a mixed parity commission during lengthy debates. This caused a lot of protests among local politicians. In particular, Health Minister Orellan Russo announced his resignation due to disagreement with the law. A number of regions where leftists are in power have said they will not apply the new measures. Macron personally sent the text of the approved bill to the Constitutional Council to check its compliance with constitutional norms. The council is expected to make a decision in January.
The new law «On Asylum and Migration», which in France is called the «law (of the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Gerald — Ed.) Darmanin», includes many measures to strengthen control over the deportation of illegal migrants. It also involves the forced eviction of foreigners who have committed crimes.
According to Darmanin, this is the «toughest» immigration bill ever introduced by the government. The head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs also said that illegal migrants who must leave France will be added to the list of wanted persons in order to track whether they really left. The bill makes it possible to legalize the stay in the country of those migrants who can find work in a sector where there is a shortage of French employees. Darmanin also wants to tighten the rules for staying in France on a family visa and introduce a mandatory French exam for relatives of those who come to the country for the purpose of family reunification.