Macron To Deliver Address Amid Immigration Bill's Chaotic Passage

French President Emmanuel Macron is set to deliver a televised address on 20 Dec in the wake of the passage of an immigration bill on 19 Dec that garnered the support of lawmakers from the right-wing nationalist Rassemblement National (National Rally, RN) of Marine Le Pen and has exposed faultlines in Macron's minority gov't coalition. A previous version of the legislation was voted down in the National Assembly earlier in Dec, with deputies of the far-left and far-right voting against for a range of reasons.

• The second version with tightened-up restrictions passed with the votes of the RN, Gaullist Les Republicains (LR), and around three-quarters of Macron's centrist Renaissance.
• Macron had previously stated that he would not enact the legislation if it passed only due to the support of Le Pen's party. In the event, the bill would have passed if RN abstained. In the aftermath of the vote, Health Minister Aurélien Rousseau announced his intention to resign, with other ministers also speculated to be mulling their leaving the gov't.
• The gov't of PM Elisabeth Borne already struggles without a majority in parliament. Further rancour within the Renaissance grouping and its allies could further damage the administration's ability to get legislation passed without relying on parties of the Gaullist or nationalist right.