French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin wanted to push through controversial anti-immigration laws that worried some members of President Macron's government.
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin wanted to push through controversial anti-immigration laws that worried some members of President Macron's government.
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin wanted to push through controversial anti-immigration laws that worried some members of President Macron's government.
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin wanted to push through controversial anti-immigration laws that worried some members of President Macron's government.

French interior minister forced to back down on tough immigration bill


Layla Maghribi
  • English
  • Arabic

France's ambitious hard-line interior minister has been forced to back down over his plans to fast-track a tough immigration bill by President Emmanuel Macron.

Gerald Darmanin had proposed draft legislation to clamp down on illegal immigration and enable the expulsion of foreign citizens found guilty of criminal acts.

The interior minister had been pressing for a quick vote in parliament, but Mr Macron’s centre-right government has ordered the proposals to be shelved until a “consultation” in the autumn, The Times reported.

The move is seen as a bid to appease some members of Mr Macron’s cabinet who are concerned that Mr Darmanin’s hard-line policies could thwart the president’s attempts to encourage opposition parties to join his National Assembly.

President Macron won a second term in April but failed to win an outright majority in subsequent parliamentary elections in June.

Mr Darmanin, who was appointed as interior minister in 2020, has been at the helm of a number of crackdowns on Islamist extremism.

Following the murder of schoolteacher Samuel Paty by an Islamic terrorist in October 2020, he announced a large police sweep of extremists, and ordered the closing of the Pantin mosque in France after it re-broadcast a video containing false allegations about Paty.

He went on to order the dissolution of other associations with ties to radical Islam and deemed “separatist”, and sponsored a bill to uproot radical Islam.

Mr Darmanin has gone to court to prevent the building of a new mosque in Strasbourg and ordered the closure of Islamic website La Voie Droite. Earlier this year, he successfully overturned the decision by the city of Grenoble to allow women to wear burkinis at public swimming pools.

A controversial figure in French politics, the interior minister is seen as a contender to be the next president of France after Mr Macron completes his second and final term in 2027.

Mr Darmanin’s latest bill included measures intended to ensure that foreigners are only allowed to stay in France if they accept national “values”, such as secularism and gender equality.

The postponement of the bill is a setback for the ambitious politician who has described himself as the “voice of the lower and middle classes”, but whose immigration policies are considered too radical by some members of Mr Macron’s government.

His plans also included scrapping a law that makes it difficult to expel foreign criminals if they are married to a French citizen, or if they immigrated before the age of 13.

Mr Darmanin has also said he wants to expel asylum seekers who remain in the country even after their applications for refugee status have been refused.

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Roger Federer's 2018 record

Australian Open Champion

Rotterdam Champion

Indian Wells Runner-up

Miami Second round

Stuttgart Champion

Halle Runner-up

Wimbledon Quarter-finals

Cincinnati Runner-up

US Open Fourth round

Shanghai Semi-finals

Basel Champion

Paris Masters Semi-finals

 

 

The White Lotus: Season three

Creator: Mike White

Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell

Rating: 4.5/5

Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday. 

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow. 

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

RESULTS

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Winner: Ferdous, Szczepan Mazur (jockey), Ibrahim Al Hadhrami (trainer)
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Winner: AF Al Bairaq, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel

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The specs

Engine: 2x201bhp AC Permanent-magnetic electric

Transmission: n/a

Power: 402bhp

Torque: 659Nm

Price estimate: Dh200,000

On sale: Q3 2022 

The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
  • Power: 640hp
  • Torque: 760nm
  • On sale: 2026
  • Price: Not announced yet
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
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Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD)

What is THAAD?

It is considered to be the US' most superior missile defence system.

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It was first created in 2008.

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THAAD is designed to take out projectiles, namely ballistic missiles, as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".

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To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.

Range:

THAAD can target projectiles both inside and outside of the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 93 miles above the Earth's surface.

Creators:

Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.

UAE and THAAD:

In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then deployed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.

While you're here
What can victims do?

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Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence

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  • Flexible work arrangements
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Guadalajara 2 (Zaldivar 03’, Pulido 90')

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Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.

United States

2.

China

3.

UAE

4.

Japan

5

Norway

6.

Canada

7.

Singapore

8.

Australia

9.

Saudi Arabia

10.

South Korea

COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: BorrowMe (BorrowMe.com)

Date started: August 2021

Founder: Nour Sabri

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: E-commerce / Marketplace

Size: Two employees

Funding stage: Seed investment

Initial investment: $200,000

Investors: Amr Manaa (director, PwC Middle East) 

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Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor

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Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy 

Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong

Rating: 4.5/5

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
RESULT

Argentina 0 Croatia 3
Croatia: 
Rebic (53'), Modric (80'), Rakitic (90' 1)

Living in...

This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home. 

The Dictionary of Animal Languages
Heidi Sopinka
​​​​​​​Scribe

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Stage 2

1. Mathieu van der Poel (NED) Alpecin-Fenix 4:18:30

2. Tadej Pogacar (SLV) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:06

3.  Primoz Roglic (SLV) Jumbo-Visma 0:00:06

4. Wilco Kelderman (NED) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:06

5. Julian Alaphilippe (FRA) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:00:08

No Shame

Lily Allen

(Parlophone)

Company%C2%A0profile
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Updated: August 05, 2022, 10:48 AM`