San Francisco Frontiers - French parliament restricts birthright citizenship in Mayotte

The bill put forward by the right does not affect the "right of soil", also known as "jus soli", for the rest of France.

But critics on the left have slammed the bill as a concession to the anti-immigration far right and fear it paves the way for restrictions nationwide.

At present, a child born in France to foreign parents can be granted French nationality from the age of 13, provided he or she has spent a certain amount of time in France.

But further conditions have existed since 2018 for Mayotte, a French archipelago that attracts a large number of migrants from its poorer neighbour, the Comoros islands, who travel there irregularly seeking a better life.

Until now, children born there additionally needed to have a parent who had resided there legally for at least three months at the time of birth to apply for nationality.

With the new bill, both parents will need to have legally lived there for at least a year, with an exception in place for single parents.

The Senate approved a final text on Thursday, and members of the lower-house national Assembly backed it on Tuesday.

Lawmaker Philippe Gosselin, from the right-wing Republican party, proposed the bill.

"The prospect of obtaining French nationality is an undeniable factor in irregular migration" to the overseas territory, he said.

But Greens member of parliament Dominique Voynet warned the bill foresaw "the end of the right of soil in France".

"Mayotte is about to become a laboratory for the ideas of the far right," she said.

Marine Le Pen, parliamentary leader of the far-right National Rally party, said the new law's impact would be minimal and that it was urgent "to simply ban the right of soil across all national territory".

Le Pen is still a member of parliament despite a court last week sentencing her to a five-year ban on running for office for embezzling European Union funds, charges she denies.

Around 320,000 people live on Mayotte, according to France's national statistics agency.

A 2019 study found that half the population were foreigners, a third of whom were born in the French territory.

Prime Minister Francois Bayrou in February called for a national debate on immigration and what it means to be French, days after stirring controversy with comments about immigrants "flooding" France.

Right-wing Justice Minister Gerald Darmanin has said the constitution should be changed to end citizenship rights granted to people born in France.

O.Anderson--SFF