France's Minister of Justice, Gérald Darmanin, has called for an unprecedented halt to immigration, proposing a three-year freeze on legal immigration to France in an interview with the French newspaper Journal du Dimanche on Saturday.
Darmanin, who previously served as France's interior minister for four years, said that France has "reached the limit of its absorption and integration capacity," asserting that the country must radically dismantle its existing approach to border control and foreign residency.
Darmanin also proposed changing the rules so that residence permits granted for employment purposes would no longer allow for family reunification.
While acknowledging that foreign labor keeps vital sectors of the French economy afloat, the proposed restriction would bar foreign workers from legally bringing their spouses or children to France.
Under current French law, immigration quotas exist purely as non-binding benchmarks. Darmanin wants to change the constitution to impose hard, mandatory caps on the influx of foreigners.
When questioned about the intense pushback these proposals might face, Darmanin indicated he would welcome a national referendum on immigration to bypass political gridlock. "I have never been afraid of the people’s opinion," he told the Journal.
France has 'reached the limit of its absorption and integration capacity'
After alluding to the issue being at the center of next year's French presidential election campaign, Darmanin said he will decide later whether to run in the 2027 election.
According to him, he will make the decision "solely based on the good of the country."
Darmanin expressed support for former Prime Minister Édouard Philippe, whom he described as "the candidate currently in the best position" to lead a unified national project, while lightly criticizing former prime minister Gabriel Attal's candidacy as being representative of "progressive social democracy," while maintaining that they have a respectful and sincere friendship.