France’s Senate has approved a controversial bill that seeks to ban undocumented immigrants from getting married in the country, as part of broader efforts to tighten immigration policies.
The legislation, supported by Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau and Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin, passed its first reading on Thursday with 227 votes in favor and 110 against.
It will now proceed to the National Assembly for further debate.
The proposed law aims to curb fraudulent marriages and prevent undocumented migrants from obtaining residency or French nationality through marriage.
However, critics argue that the bill contradicts a 2003 ruling by the French Constitutional Council, which affirmed that a person’s immigration status alone should not prevent them from getting married.
Opposition lawmakers have strongly condemned the bill. Green Party senator Mélanie Vogel described it as “a full-scale attack on the Constitution,” while Socialist Corinne Narassiguin accused the government of fueling “an anxiety-provoking climate of xenophobia and racism.”
The bill was introduced following a high-profile case involving a mayor in northern France who refused to officiate the wedding of a former mosque leader in 2023.
The mosque leader later took legal action against the mayor but was subsequently deported.
Under French law, marriages must be conducted at city halls, and mayors play a key role in officiating them.
The debate over marriage rights for undocumented migrants resurfaced recently after Robert Ménard, the mayor of Béziers in southern France, was summoned by prosecutors for refusing to officiate a 2023 wedding between a French woman and an undocumented Algerian man.
The legislation reflects France’s ongoing shift toward stricter immigration controls, a trend that has intensified since last year’s legislative elections, which resulted in a hung parliament. If the bill is passed by the National Assembly, it will further solidify the government’s stance on immigration enforcement.
