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BRUSSELS ― The French government and its far-right rivals are trading blows over tougher migration policies ― 10 months out from the country’s most significant presidential election in modern times.
The country’s Europe minister, a loyalist of centrist President Emmanuel Macron, told POLITICO that Jordan Bardella’s National Rally had a position on migration that was “a big fraud.” The far-right party, which says it did everything it could to support the reduction of irregular migration and increase deportation numbers, is topping opinion polls.
In a sign that the election campaign could become increasingly focused on the topic, Benjamin Haddad said the National Rally has opposed EU efforts to control migration at every turn — except when it became politically profitable.
“There is a big fraud being carried out,” said Haddad, who pushed to toughen the EU’s Migration and Asylum Pact as well as the Returns Regulation, which deals with migrant deportations.
