France MovesTo Ban Marriage For Undocumented Migrants Amid Immigration Crackdown

France’s Senate has passed a controversial bill seeking to prohibit undocumented immigrants from marrying in the country, a move that has sparked heated debate over its constitutionality and human rights implications.

The bill, championed by Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau and Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin, was approved in a first reading with 227 votes in favor and 110 against. It will now proceed to the National Assembly for further deliberation.

The proposed law is part of a broader effort by French authorities to tighten immigration controls, following last summer’s elections that saw a shift toward stricter immigration policies.

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Officials argue that the legislation will curb sham marriages and prevent undocumented migrants from using marriage as a means to secure residency or French nationality.

However, critics say the bill directly contradicts a 2003 ruling by the French Constitutional Council, which affirmed that a person’s irregular immigration status “cannot in itself be an obstacle to marriage.”

Greens senator Melanie Vogel denounced the bill as “a full-scale attack on the Constitution,” while Socialist lawmaker Corinne Narassiguin warned it fuels “a climate of xenophobia and racism.”

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The bill was partly motivated by recent high-profile cases, including a northern French mayor who faced legal action after refusing to officiate a wedding involving an undocumented former mosque leader.

The groom was later deported. Similarly, the mayor of Beziers, Robert Menard, was summoned by prosecutors for denying marriage to a French woman and an undocumented Algerian man in 2023.

As France navigates its increasingly divisive immigration debate, the fate of the bill now rests in the hands of the National Assembly.