Immigration
France | Parliamentary elections and what it could mean for immigration
Summary
The first round of the French parliamentary elections will take place on Sunday 30 June. Immigration is a key policy area for voters, which could lead to a shift in policy if a new party obtains a majority in the Assemblée nationale. However, it is not clear whether highly skilled migration would be impacted in such a scenario.
The detail
On 30 June and 7 July, French voters will elect legislative representatives in the Assemblée nationale. This is following French President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to call a snap election after the EU Parliamentary elections, in which his party suffered a heavy defeat to the right-wing National Rally.
Immigration was a key issue in the debate before the EU elections, with an Ipsos exit poll showing that for 43% of voters, immigration was a decisive policy area in determining their vote. In the run-up to the upcoming national elections, immigration remains at the top of the political agenda.
The current debate focuses on irregular and asylum migration.
While Macron’s migration policies have been moving towards more protectionist measures in recent months, Le Pen’s national rally has for many years promoted significantly stricter immigration policies. According to political analysts, this is one of the reasons why the National Rally now leads the polls at 34%, ahead of Macron who trails at 20% according to Ipsos.
The leftist coalition of Nouveau Front Populaire, who stand for a more open immigration policy, has been critical of Macron’s recent legislative initiatives and have been polling at 29.5%.
Despite immigration being a key topic for all parties in the political debates, there have been no specific policy announcements on talent mobility or highly skilled migration. This is likely due to the fact that the main parties aim to balance stricter immigration policies in some areas, such as asylum, against measures that promote national interests such as international business and skills and talent shortages.
In any case, regardless of the outcome of the election, immigration will continue to be a key policy area in the run up to the vote on 30 June and the run-off on 7 July. How this will impact the immigration landscape more broadly remains to be seen.
Contact us
For a deeper discussion on the above, please reach out to your Vialto Partners point of contact, or alternatively:
Sharan Kundi
Partner, Global Immigration Leader
Arzhvaël Le Fur
Partner
Violaine Jaussaud
Senior Manager
Hugo Vijge
Director
Frédérique Montalti
Director
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