The French Parliament enacted an immigration bill that tightens the asylum-seeking process by decreasing the maximum processing time from 120 to 90 days and reducing the time to claim asylum Wednesday.
While the bill did not pass through the Senate on Tuesday, the lower house was able to pass the bill into law with 100 votes in favor to 25 opposed with 11 abstaining, reported French radio station FRI. The lower house primarily consisted of officials from the La Republique En Marche party, which French President Emmanuel Macron ran under.
The French government supported the adopted law because it allowed for “controlled immigration, an effective right to asylum and successful integration” of those accepted into the country, according to FRI. (RELATED: President Trump Laments Loss Of European Culture, Says Immigration Has ‘Changed The Fabric Of Europe’)
Part of the law also increased the maximum detention time from 45 to 90 days.
The passage of the law, however, brought the political strife between the left and right to the forefront.
Many on the right said the law would grant more migrants French legal status. Lawmakers on the left, however, feared the change of maximum detention increased the chance of “children behind bars” for up to three months, reported FRI.
The bill comes while many European countries struggle with processing and handling the large amount of people entering as refugees and seeking asylum. One idea proposed by Italy in June was establishing migration processing centers in Africa to prevent migrants from making the deadly trip across the Mediterranean Sea.
Macron warned such centers would only work if African countries were willing to organize them. He said that many African countries were worried the centers would act as a “pull factor for migrants,” according to a BBC report on July 4.
The influx of migrants burdens Italy and Greece the most under the European Union’s current asylum policy, with Spain also receiving increased migration in recent months.
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