The president of France’s National Rally (RN), Jordan Bardella, announced his party’s intention to end birthright citizenship in France.
Campaigning for the upcoming French general elections, on June 14 he outlined his party’s plans on immigration, security and pension reform.
In an interview with BFMTV, Bardella stated: “Within the first few weeks, I’ll have parliament vote on an immigration law designed to facilitate the deportation of foreign Islamic criminal offenders by lifting administrative constraints, and above all, I’ll abolish birthright citizenship.”
This proposal echos one put forward by French President Emmanuel Macron’s government.
In February, his administration said it planned to end birthright citizenship on the Indian Ocean island of Mayotte to reduce its appeal to migrants.
“It will no longer be possible to become French if you are not the child of a French parent,” interior minister Gerald Darmanin said at the time
The end of birthright citizenship is a complicated judiciary issue as it would entail changing France’s Constitution.
The French Government will end granting birthright citizenship in Mayotte to make the overseas department less appealing to migrants following large-scale and violent clashes there. https://t.co/iPnksb2e1t
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) February 13, 2024
Additional immigration measures proposed by Bardella included a reform of healthcare for illegal immigrants. “There will no longer be free health care for people who come to our country illegally,” he said.
Despite his strong stance on immigration, he insisted that his policies were not aimed at French citizens of foreign origin.
“I want to reassure everyone today that people of foreign nationality or origin who work, pay their taxes, respect the law and love our country have absolutely nothing to fear from the [RN],” he said.
Following Macron’s call on June 9 for the snap elections, de facto RN Marine Le Pen stated that Bardella, recently re-elected as an MEP, would become the next Prime Minister of France if the party tops the vote.
