France’s Senate has approved a controversial bill that would ban undocumented migrants from getting married in the country. The legislation, backed by hardline Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau and Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin, passed its first reading in the upper house with 227 votes in favor and 110 against.
The bill, which aims to crack down on sham marriages and prevent undocumented immigrants from obtaining residence permits or French nationality through marriage, must now be debated in the National Assembly before becoming law.
Opponents argue the bill violates France’s Constitution, specifically a 2003 ruling by the Constitutional Council, which stated that a foreigner’s irregular status “cannot in itself be an obstacle to marriage.”
Greens senator Melanie Vogel condemned the law as “a full-scale attack on the Constitution.” Socialist Corinne Narassiguin accused the government of fueling xenophobia and racism through the policy.
The move comes amid a broader tightening of immigration policies in France, reflecting the country’s rightward political shift after last summer’s legislative elections.
Recent court cases have also fueled the debate: In 2023, a mayor in northern France refused to officiate the wedding of a former mosque leader, who was later deported. More recently, Robert Menard, the mayor of Béziers, was summoned by prosecutors after refusing to marry a French woman and an undocumented Algerian man. If passed in the National Assembly, the law would mark a significant restriction on migrants’ rights in France.
