WEB DESK
France’s National Assembly has passed a controversial immigration law that has exposed unprecedented divisions in President Emmanuel Macron’s young centrist party. After 61 hours of debate, the measure was approved yesterday in a vote of 228 in favour, 139 against and 24 abstentions. It passed largely with the support of Macron’s Republic On The Move (LREM) party.
But one LREM deputy, Jean-Michel Clement, rebelled and announced that he is quitting the president’s party after casting a no vote on the proposed law. Opposition to the measure was found across the political spectrum with lawmakers of both the right-wing and leftist parties voting against it, as well as the far-right National Front.
The Lower-House of the French parliament was supposed to vote on the bill Friday, but the fractious debate stretched into the weekend due to more than 1,000 amendments proposed by deputies.