PARIS - French lawmakers and senators sought on Monday to hammer out a compromise over a beleaguered immigration bill as President Emmanuel Macron's government hoped to salvage what is seen as a flagship reform of his second term.
France has a long tradition of welcoming refugees and immigrants, but a rise in the number of asylum seekers, a chronic affordable-housing shortage, and a cost-of-living crisis have worsened social tensions in the country.
French authorities have been seeking to push through legislation to harden France's immigration law but members of the right-wing and left-wing opposition last week joined forces to vote down the draft law without even debating the measures.
The centrist government, which does not have a majority in parliament, has been locked in frantic talks with opposition parties in a bid to rescue the proposed legislation.
A key member of Macron's party told AFP on condition of anonymity that an agreement on the text of the bill was "practically a foregone conclusion".
A mixed parliamentary commission consisting of seven upper-house senators and seven lower-house lawmakers met from 5:00 pm (1600 GMT) Monday behind closed doors in a bid to agree on a compromise text, according to parliamentary sources.
But the meeting was interrupted several minutes after the start following a request from the rapporteur for the commission examining the text, a sign that final adjustments were still needed.
Annie Genevard, a representative of the right-wing Republicans who is part of the commission, said earlier that "drafting issues" remained.
If there is a compromise on the text, the bill would then be put to a vote in both chambers on Tuesday.
The deadlock has been deeply frustrating for Macron, who many see as a potential lame duck if he has to sit out the rest of his term without being able to implement his reform agenda.
Observers said that to push through the reform Macron's government risked granting too many concessions to the far right, which says the bill is not tough enough.
- 'Stigmatisation of migrants' -
Advocacy groups have criticised the bill, saying France relies on migrants -- including undocumented workers -- in many industries.
A protest against the proposed legislation was set to take place in Paris on Monday.
In a letter published in the Liberation newspaper, more than 380 local and national Green legislators urged members of parliament to drop the bill.
"This immigration bill is part of a dynamic of criminalisation and stigmatisation of migrants, promoted by the right and the centre at the national and European level," the letter said.
But government ministers said a compromise needed to be agreed upon so as not to deliver a victory to the far right.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin earlier Monday indicated that agreement with the conservative Republicans, whose cooperation is crucial, was possible.
"We are closer to an agreement than a disagreement," Darmanin, who has championed the bill, said on French news channel LCI.
The failure of the bill would be a "magnificent" boost for hard-right figurehead Marine Le Pen of the National Rally (RN), Darmanin added.
"Madame Le Pen doesn't want these solutions, she wants problems," he said.
- 'Victory for RN' -
Solidarity Minister Aurore Berge signalled that concessions might be needed to achieve a result.
"If we don't have a text voted through the National Assembly and the Senate, it will be a victory of just one camp, the National Rally," she said.
Yet even if the parliamentary commission agrees a compromise text, there is no guarantee it would not again face obstacles in the lower house, the National Assembly.
A parliamentary source estimated at the weekend that around 10 percent of the 251 deputies from the presidential camp could abstain or vote against the bill.
Originally proposed by Macron's centrist government with a mix of steps to expel more undocumented people and improve migrants' integration, the draft law was hardened during its earlier passage through the upper house, which is controlled by the right.
The current version has nonetheless been criticised by both the far right and the far left for opposing reasons.
France's immigrant population is estimated at 5.1 million, or 7.6 percent of the population. The authorities believe there are between 600,000 to 700,000 illegal immigrants in the country.
- by Antoine Maignan