The government is seeking to address labor market shortfalls by revising rules for migrants
The French government wants a new residence permit for foreigners to address skills shortages and allow some asylum seekers to enter the workforce quickly under proposed revisions to immigration rules.
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanen and Labor Minister Olivier Duchaux told Le Figaro newspaper that a draft law to be sent to the National Assembly in early 2023 seeks to balance the needs of the labor market with voters’ concerns about identity, integration and security .
Dussault said the bill reflected the government’s “pragmatism and realism”.
Other European countries are also relaxing immigration rules to deal with labor market pressures, although it is a particularly sensitive issue in France.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said this month that Europe’s biggest economy should attract more foreign workers and make it easier for women and older people to work to avert labor shortages and a pension crisis in the coming years. years.
Spain amended its residence permit rules this year to ease restrictions on working foreign students and allow temporary work permits in hard-pressed sectors.
In Britain, however, where Brexit has exacerbated labor shortages, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak rejected calls from companies to free up immigration to help boost growth.
Under the French plans, the new work permits in stressed sectors of the economy will be in place until the end of 2026 and will be aimed at “normalising” certain groups of foreigners already working in the country, rather than at new arrivals.
A report by the national statistics agency INSEE released in November said builders, carers, butchers and plumbers are among the professions suffering from major shortages.
Unemployment in France fell to its lowest level in 14 years in the third quarter but remains above 7%. Even so, many voters oppose using immigrants to fill the gaps.
President Emmanuel Macron’s government lacks a majority in the lower house of parliament and will need support from the conservative Republican Party to pass the bill.
Some right-wing MPs warn that it is not strict enough and will lead to a wave of foreigners in France illegally obtaining documents. Left-wing opponents of the bill say the proposals are too repressive.
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