French President Emmanuel Macron appointed Gabriel Attal as the new head of government, succeeding Elizabeth Bourne, who submitted her resignation amid great controversy and questions about her motives for doing so, including whether the dispute over the immigration law was the reason.
The German News Agency revealed that “a dispute over the controversial immigration law was the reason for Born’s submission of her resignation,” a law that came, according to identical reports, with the aim of “tightening the French state’s complete control over immigrants.”
This law, which was approved by the French Parliament, continues to receive successive human rights and political criticism, the strongest of which was expressed by resigned Prime Minister Borne, who confirmed that “there are measures in the law that are unconstitutional.”
The leftist opposition in France directed “severe” criticism of this law, with Jean-Luc Mélenchon stating that “the passage of this law is a disgusting victory.”
By changing the prime minister, the French president is trying to strengthen his image in his second term, which is witnessing continuous criticism both at the internal level and in terms of foreign policy directions, especially in the Gaza file, which witnessed a contradictory shift in Paris’s speech.
Opponents accuse Macron of continuing to concentrate power in his hands and interfering in the details of managing affairs.
Left-wing European candidate Rafael Glucksmann joked on public television that “the prime minister will be Emmanuel Macron,” in response to the appointment of Attal as the new head of government.
Control of government
In this regard, Omar Al-Murabit, a political analyst specializing in French affairs, said, “The appointment of Attal as head of the French government came as a result of Macron’s desire to have an actual deputy prime minister himself so that he could implement his policy comfortably.”
Al-Murabit added, in a statement to Hespress, that “Born left because she no longer had to offer anything new, and she, along with the Minister of the Interior, failed to pass the draft immigration law despite its approval by Parliament.”
Among other reasons, according to the specialist in French affairs, is the weak governmental performance of some ministers in the French government, most notably the Minister of the Interior and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who did not impose their presence and were not effective in the Gaza war.
The spokesman pointed out that “the controversial immigration bill is now in the Constitutional Assembly, and Macron himself acknowledged the impossibility of passing some of its provisions in this assembly, so it is scheduled to be amended.”
Al-Murabit stressed that “Macron had previously announced his desire to make changes in the government, even before the immigration law was passed, which is considered a failed card in the Borne government. Therefore, it was incumbent on the president to actually take the step of change.”
Blurry scene
For her part, political analyst Sharifa Lamuir said: “It is unlikely to say that the Prime Minister’s resignation is a matter of confusion, especially since it came after the uproar created by the immigration law, through which divisions emerged even among those loyal to President Macron.”
Lemuir added, in a statement to Hespress, that “this step, which witnessed the resignation of the Prime Minister, is an attempt to advance Macron’s term, even if during it he does not have an absolute majority that would allow him to rule comfortably.”
The same political analyst pointed out that “this matter is an attempt by President Macron to give some kind of momentum to his mandate ahead of the parliamentary elections,” indicating that “disclosing at this particular stage that a government amendment is imminent is tantamount to feeling the pulse, and with it leaves the door to withdrawing this law or Its adoption is open.”
The spokeswoman stressed that the French immigration law created a crisis within the government, “but on the other hand, talk about Macron retracting this law or adopting it is premature; Because the French political scene is experiencing a kind of ambiguity, especially at this stage.”