The French Parliament is to vote on November 19 on a proposal by the country’s socialist party to grant amnesty to an estimated 300,000 to 400,000 unauthorized immigrants employed in the country. Are France’s socialists following the lead of Spain’s Pedro Sánchez?
It seems so.
From Politico:
The proposal, introduced by Socialist lawmaker Paul Christophle, hails Spain’s Pedro Sánchez for having “chosen to provide foreign nationals with the legal means to settle and work” instead of “trying — in vain — to control migration flows.”
That looks a lot like surrender, and, given what is currently going on in France, the timing is, to say the least, bold.
The measure is expected to be supported by center-left presidential candidate Raphaël Glucksmann, whose campaign is eager to find some breathing space between centrist candidates like Gabriel Attal and Edouard Philippe, and Jean-Luc Mélenchon, his rival on the radical left. Glucksmann has previously expressed support for such a step in multiple interviews.
Yet another reminder that the term “centrist” can be . . . misleading.
The authors of the Politico report speculate that part of the reason for this move is to allow Glucksmann to distinguish himself from the center-right candidate, Édouard Philippe, “who believes that amnesty plans should be contingent on a European agreement.” Any such agreement would, I suspect, be a long, long time coming.
Glucksmann and Philippe are fighting over former Macron voters. A “center”-left member of the European Parliament is quoted as saying that Glucksmann’s support for this proposal could also help poach Macron voters “who are completely opposed to a closed society.” Hyperbole, perhaps, but it is interesting to see opposition to an amnesty being equated with favoring a “closed society.”
Europe’s “centrists” are what they are.