The first shared initiative referendum (RIP) will have to wait. On Thursday, April 11, the Constitutional Council rejected the request from the Les Républicains (LR) party to “give a voice to the French people” on immigration, as requested by its president, Eric Ciotti. In their request, the right-wing party had included measures from the immigration law that were censored in January. At the time, the nine judges of the Constitutional Council had considered that these measures had no place in a text hardened by LR and its centrist ally in the Senate. LR had limited the articles presented to the fields of economy and social issues to comply with Article 11 under which these referendums fall.
Among the measures presented were the establishment of a “residence duration requirement” of five years for the payment of certain social benefits to foreigners in a regular situation, as well as the transformation of the State Medical Assistance, considered too generous and costly, into emergency medical aid. In its opinion, the Constitutional Council determined that the provisions in this initiative constituted a reform related to the nation’s social and economic policy and therefore fell within the scope of the referendum under Article 11 of the constitution. However, the Council found an unconstitutionality starting from the first article of the text.
The requirement of a five-year residence for the benefit of different social benefits was deemed disproportionate and contrary to the principles of the 1946 Constitution preamble by the Constitutional Council. With this opinion, the constitutional judges rejected what they perceived as a measure seeking to establish national preference and reminded that foreigners present in a regular situation in the country enjoy rights and freedoms like the French citizens. The Council sanctioned the disproportionality of the measure regarding the duration conditions for these foreigners to benefit from housing or family benefits.
The Constitutional Council considered that by subjecting the benefit of social benefits, some of which may have a contributory nature, to a condition of residence in France for at least five years or affiliation through professional activity for at least thirty months, the articles presented an excessive violation of these requirements and are therefore unconstitutional. The LR party’s attempt to initiate a shared initiative referendum on immigration policy fell short of the Constitutional Council’s standards. This decision reiterates the council’s commitment to upholding the rights and freedoms of all individuals, regardless of their nationality or origin. The rejection of this referendum reflects a commitment to constitutional principles and the protection of fundamental rights.
