A new opinion poll has revealed that an overwhelming majority of the French population supports immigration legislation that would facilitate the expulsion of foreigners who are living in the country illegally or who have committed crimes.
The survey, carried out by the CSA Institute for the news outlet CNEWS, was published on Wednesday, April 26th—the same day that Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne announced the postponement of immigration legislation until this fall—and revealed that 82% of French people favor the adoption of an immigration law that would facilitate increased deportations.
The introduction of new immigration legislation, which was supposed to be one of the main items on the National Assembly’s agenda between now and July 14th, has been postponed until autumn due to a lack of majority support for the government’s bill. Les Républicains, the party positioned between the government and the right wing, refused to endorse the bill saying it did not go far enough in solving the problem of immigration.
“Today, there is no majority to vote for such a text, as I was able to verify yesterday when I spoke with the head of Les Républicains,” French Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne explained.
Support for firmer immigration law is high across all age groups throughout the country, although it is the highest among people aged 65 and over (86%). Among the 18 and 24 age group, 81% of respondents favor such a law, while 78% of respondents between 25 and 49 felt the same way.
The poll did, however, reveal a stark divide among leftists. 53% of left-wing sympathizers favor a bill that would make it easier to deport criminal migrants and migrants residing illegally on French territory. The remaining 47% on the political Left say they are opposed to the legislation.
Supporters of Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s La France Insoumise (LFI) were most opposed to such a law, at 61%, slightly more than supporters of Europe Ecologie-Les Verts (59%). Meanwhile, 66% of voters who identified with the Socialist Party responded favorably to the idea of a tougher law.
France’s Right, however, was nearly unanimous in its support for a new, tougher immigration law, with 96% of respondents who sympathize with the Right expressing their approval.
Among Les Républicains respondents, 100% stated they were sympathetic to such a law.
Similarly, 97% of Rassemblement National voters and 96% of Reconquête voters expressed the same sentiment.
