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The French parliament has approved legislation that toughens France's immigration policy after months of gridlock.
The amended bill is supported by French President Emmanuel Macron's centrist Renaissance party and Marine Le Pen's right-wing National March party. Leftists have accused Macron of making concessions with the far right.
However, the majority was so large in the lower house of parliament that the ruling party did not need Le Pen's support. Macron has told his party, before the vote in Parliament, that he does not want the National March to have the last word on this victory.
He has said that he is sending the document for a new reading rather than approving it on the basis of the support of Le Pen's party, several sources told the AFP news agency. With the new measures, it is more difficult for migrants to receive family members in France, and the period to gain access to state benefits is extended.
A preliminary draft of this document failed to be approved due to opposition objections. Human rights groups have condemned the decision, calling this migration law the most regressive law in decades.
The MPs of the extreme right and the conservatives have supported the decision, while the leftists have expressed disappointment. Macron's party lost its majority in parliament in the July 2022 election. Since then, his government has struggled several times to push bills through parliament.
While Macron's government is facing a political crisis after Health Minister Aurelien Rousseau announced his resignation in protest at the tough immigration bill.
The bill was originally intended to show that Macron could crack down on migration, keeping France open to foreign workers who could help the economy in sectors with labor shortages.
His interior minister Gérald Darmanin had argued that the bill "protected the French", saying the government needed to crack down on immigration.
Within Macron's party, a large number of MPs voted against the bill or abstained, highlighting deep divisions.
Le Pen, the leader of the far-right anti-immigration Rally National party, said her party would vote in favor of the bill, calling it an "ideological victory".
Opposition politicians on the left pointed out that when Macron was re-elected for a second term in 2022, he had acknowledged that many voters chose him not for his ideas but to reject the far-right ideas of his opponent Marine Le Pen.
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