True Left

French President Emmanuel Macron is set to make a second attempt at increasing expulsions of illegal immigrants under fierce pressure from his far-right opponents.

Macron's centrist government unveiled the outlines of a new draft immigration law on Tuesday that will be debated formally in parliament in early 2023.

It comes just four years after a 2018 law with similar objectives, passed during Macron's first term in office, which also aimed to take the heat out of an explosive political issue.
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Speaking to the Parisien newspaper at the weekend, Macron pitched the new legislation as a means of addressing the historic rise of the far-right National Rally, which in June became the biggest opposition party in parliament.

"We need a policy that is firm and humane in line with our values," the 44-year-old said. "It's the best antidote to the extremes which feed off anxieties."

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who scored 41 percent in the second round of April's presidential election, regularly accuses the government of laxity and "submerging" France with foreigners.

"I don't expect anything (from the new law)," she said on Tuesday. "They will talk to us again about balancing firmness and humanity. We've heard that for decades.

People from 15 different charities and some left-wing MPs demonstrated in front of the national assembly on Tuesday to denounce what they termed the "hostile" attitude of the government to migration.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson publicly denounced his country’s poor management of immigration this week in a landmark opinion piece for the Swedish daily newspaper Aftonbladet.

The article is just the latest sign of a political volte face in the Scandinavian country’s infamous immigration outlook, but one that makes sense with respect to Kristersson’s Moderate Party’s electoral pact with the right-wing Sweden Democrats, in place since 2022.
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Kristersson promised a “paradigm shift” in Sweden’s handling of immigration upon entering power last year, vowing to end decades of liberal immigration policy spearheaded by the Social Democrats. Kristersson also referenced Danish asylum policies as a model for Sweden to follow in the coming decade, with Denmark praised for its strict management of asylum intake.

Opinion polling has shown a public preference for more stringent border control as the Sweden Democrats pile pressure on Kristersson’s government not to submit to new EU migration quotas.

China and the Palestinian Authority say they're ready to establish a strategic partnership.

This development comes after Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas met president Xi Jinping in Beijing.

China says it's prepared to help ease tensions between Israel and the Palestinian authority.

 The Eiffel Tower, chateaus in the Loire Valley — and cars on fire. Tourists to France faced a new reality during an eruption of nationwide anger following the police killing of 17-year-old Nahel Merzouk.

While hotel owners cite a drop in bookings in some areas, the French government insisted on Thursday that the overall picture for the tourism industry remains rosy, and promised a “great season” for visitors despite the simmering discontent.

Officials from the Ministry of Economy and Finance held a meeting Thursday with representatives of the tourism industry to discuss the consequences that the nationwide unrest following Nahel’s death has had on France’s tourist activity and international image.

The violence ebbed this week, but the roots of the tensions remain.

The Union of Hotel Trades and Industries (UMIH) reported that hotel cancellations in Marseille had reached up to 30% in the wake of the protests, and anticipated that attendance at bars and restaurants in Paris could plummet by half.

Local and national reports cited international flight and hotel cancellations driven by fear, added to the property damages that businesses suffered during several days of violence.

“The fact is that restaurants, hotels, and shops are open today in Paris, Marseille, and Lyon, and this is the most important thing.”

Others said they felt safe because of the prominent police presence in the streets of the French capital. Heavily armed officers patrolled past Dior and Cartier boutiques on the Champs-Elysees avenue this week as part of an exceptional, 45,000-strong nationwide police deployment that led to more than 3,000 arrests — and new concerns about police excesses.

Johan and Jenna Haukbrauer, a couple visiting from Germany for the first time, said they were aware of what was unfolding but were nonetheless not discouraged.

“We checked the news, but we were fine because there are lots of policemen here and security forces, so for us it’s fine,” Johan said.

France is still safe for tourists despite the ongoing riots, French Economy Minster Bruno Le Maire has said.

Le Maire has made multiple interventions in foreign media to stress that rioting will have no impact on the French tourism season. His calls come as several countries — such as the U.K., the U.S. and Canada — urge their citizens to be particularly careful when traveling to France.

"All the major democracies today are faced with this kind of problem,"[So your admitting that all democracy's have a racism problem.] he told the Daily Telegraph on Wednesday, adding that "our British friends should be happy to visit France and have no fear."

At the same time, the French minister is trying to reassure foreign investors and rating agencies that helping businesses impacted by riots won't result in more public debt.