France moves to ban marriage for undocumented migrants

PARIS: France´s Senate on Thursday backed a bill to ban undocumented immigrants from getting married in France as the government seeks to clamp down on illegal immigration, in a draft law the left has described as unconstitutional.

The legislation backed by immigration hardliners Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau and Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin was approved by the French parliament´s upper house at first reading, with 227 votes in favour and 110 against.

The bill must now pass through the National Assembly lower house. French authorities are seeking to tighten immigration policies and border controls, in a move emblematic of the rightward shift in French politics following last summer´s legislative elections that resulted in a hung parliament.

The legislation is aimed at cracking down on sham marriages and closing loopholes that help facilitate the delivery of residence permits or French nationality through marriage. But the legislation runs counter to a 2003 decision by the French Constitutional Council, which said that a foreigner´s irregular status “cannot in itself be an obstacle to the marriage of the person concerned.”

Greens senator Melanie Vogel denounced what she called “a full-scale attack on the Constitution.” The Socialist Corinne Narassiguin said the initiative was aimed at amplifying “an anxiety-provoking climate of xenophobia and racism.”