Celebrities in France call on Macron to abandon immigration law
The signatories are alluding to Macron's words after his re-election in April 2022, when he promised to build a firewall against the right-wing populists in the country. The law passed on Wednesday night is a "law of hatred and division" that threatens the cohesion of society, the statement said. "We appeal to the president to wake up and not sign the text."
Among the signatories are numerous politicians from the left-wing camp, including the party leaders Olivier Faure for the Socialists, Jean-Luc Mélenchon for the left-wing populists, Marine Tondelier for the Greens, as well as the mayors of Paris and Lille, Anne Hidalgo and Martine Aubry.
Numerous cultural figures have also signed the appeal, including Annie Ernaux, filmmakers Valérie Donzelli and Alice Diop, writer Eric Orsenna and former soccer star Eric Cantona. By Thursday morning, more than 1,500 people had signed the declaration.
The previous evening,Macron had rejected accusations that the stricter immigration law would play into the hands of the right-wing populist party Rassemblement National (RN). "On the contrary, the law will help us to fight against what will bring votes to the RN," he said in a two-hour talk show in which he was the only guest. "We have to show that we in the Republican camp have an answer to this that is in line with our values," Macron said.
The immigration law was passed with the votes of the entire RN parliamentary group. Leader of the parliamentary group Marine Le Pen celebrated it as an "ideological victory" that enshrines the "national priority", i.e. the preference for French people.
Macron conceded that the law had weaknesses and should first be reviewed by the Constitutional Council. The latter has one month to comment. Socialist party leader Olivier Faure criticized the adoption of a law that is probably not constitutional even in the eyes of the government. "The Constitutional Council is not there to clear consciences," he explained.
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Source: www.stern.de
