Marine Le Pen wants a referendum on the “Law of Earth” in France

Marine Le Pen announced on Saturday that the question asked to the French should be: “Do you support the bill withstanding the law of obtaining citizenship under the” Law of Earth “?”. The extreme right leader spoke in Madrid, in the lobby of the patriot meeting for Europe (political group in the European Parliament).

She called to end with “discussions” and “paplining” and convene a referendum. The day before, on Friday, Prime Minister Francois Bayrou proposed to start a wider debate that would concern French identity and go beyond immigration.

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“Law of Earth” is used in France From 1889 and means that a Frenchman can become a child born in France, regardless of the place of origin and nationality of his parents.

This is not currently happening automatically – such a child must apply for citizenship at the time of age and prove a long stay in France. However, the principle itself is very important for the French vision of equality, in which people cannot be differentiated due to origin and ethnicity.

Meanwhile, France has just tightened the principles of “land law” in Majott, its territory in the Indian Ocean, and there is no lack of votes that it means a breakdown leading to the abolition of the principle throughout the country. Not only the Le Pen party (national unification), citing Majotta, calls for the abolition of “land law” in France at all. Such proposals also fall from the mouth of right -wing politicians, ministers in the office of Prime Minister Bayrou.

Majotta, lying in the Komorów archipelago, is the direction of mass immigration from neighboring islands. Every year, 10,000 children are born there, whose mothers come from Komorów. The restriction of “land law” is to close the perspective of French citizenship and reduce immigration. After tightening the regulations, a child born in Majott will be able to become a Frenchman if both his parents have lived in France for at least three years.

Although the situation in Majott requires action, there is no lack of votes that the problem is not “land law”, but better than on neighboring islands, the economic and social situation. Access to citizenship has been tightened once – in 2018 – but it did not stop immigration.

For this reason, the defenders of the “Law of Earth” believe that the example of Majotta is used politically to undermine the validity of this rule throughout the country. Majotta cannot be considered a “laboratory” for the rest of France, “Le Monde” emphasized on Saturday in an editorial article.

This topic raises strong divisions. MP from the camp of President Emmanuel Macron, Belkhir Belhaddad, who voted on Friday against limiting the “Law of Earth” in Majott, in a gesture of the protest he left his faction (almost all deputies of the faction supported the restrictions).

– Law of Earth is one of the foundations of our republic. The heart of the republican project is questioned (…). I am an immigrant child, I adopted French and the values ​​of the Republic, and if I became a deputy, it is only thanks to the Republican meritocracy and to defend these principles and values ​​- told Belhaddad to the daily “Le Figaro”.