Some 200 leading French figures – actors, writers, journalists and trade union representatives – called for demonstrations on 21 January against the immigration law, calling it “a dangerous turning point for the Republic” in an article published on 7 January in the newspaper L’Humanité.
In a text published by daily L’Humanité and online publication Mediapart, 200 leading figures denounced the immigration law and called for demonstrations on 21 January. Among the signatories are actresses Josiane Balasco and Julie Gayet, writers Nicolas Mathieu and Alice Zeniter, and trade unionists Marilise Leon (CFDT) and Sophie Binet (CGT).
The law, passed at the end of December and supported by the LR and RN parties, restricts social benefits for foreigners, introduces migration quotas, questions the automatic nature of the right to legal residence and reinstates the “offence of illegal residence”. It also gives prefects discretionary powers to regularise the status of illegal workers in so-called “short-staffed” professions.
President Emmanuel Macron defended it, noting it was a “shield that we need” in France, where authorities say there are 5.1 million legal foreigners (7.6 per cent of the population), half a million refugees and between 600,000 and 700,000 illegal immigrants.
He said the text would “improve integration through work” and “legalise between 7,000 and 10,000 people”. “We call on the President of the Republic to refrain from adopting this law in the interest of unity and solidarity rather than endlessly dividing our society,” concludes the Tribune.
