Discussions came to a halt and the text was rejected outright. It was a rout for the executive, and in particular for the Minister of the Interior.
MPs passed the motion on the immigration bill by 270 votes to 265. The majority was 268, so the vote was decided by just two votes, but it is not the end of the road for campaigns to scrap the rule for Britons in France and Spain.
Andrew Hesselden the Campaign Director and Founder of 180 Days in Spain, a sister campaign to “France Visa Free” told the Bulletin: “ Like the French group, ‘180 Days in Spain’ advocates for part year residents and asks politicians to find a solution to the 90-in-180 day problem that British people have come up against since Brexit.
“At first glance, this might look like it’s bad news for second home owners in France. But the Immigration Bill, thrown out today by a ‘motion to dismiss’, actually covered lots of different migration provisions, not just those that were intended to help British part-year dwellers. Given the opposition the government faced to parts of the bill, it was not entirely unexpected that something like this would happen.
“I think people have every reason to be optimistic, because Senatrice Berthet’s proposal has really put the topic squarely on the agenda of French lawmakers. Our own members were amazed today to learn that almost a quarter of French députés have backed or proposed some 20 separate amendments, all of which are designed to help part year residents in France. I think that’s incredible, given how difficult it has felt at times to get recognition of these issues.
“With over 7,000 members, 180 days in Spain continues to grow and attract interest. Our members have been lobbying UK government ministers in Westminster, Spanish national and regional politicians and also representatives of the EU-UK Parliamentary Partnership Assembly which meets several times per year.
“The 90-day problem, together with issues facing French school groups and touring musicians were topics discussed by the latter when they met in Westminster earlier this month”.
Steven Jolly, the founder of France Visa Free said: “France Visa Free and its followers are of course very disappointed to see that the Assemblée Nationale has voted in support of a ‘motion de rejet préalable’ meaning that the immigration and integration bill cannot be discussed in detail. We were hoping to see it approved together with an amendment to grant an ‘automatically approved visa without formalities’ to all second home owners.
“That would have been a huge step in the right direction for the France Visa Free campaign, and would have been recognition that those with a home in France before Brexit should be allowed to continue living in their homes in just same way that they did before Brexit without having to make France their primary residence.
“The current visa process is time consuming and expensive, and really not equitable or reasonable, given that French people can spend 6 months per visit in the UK, even if they don’t own property.
“Ultimately, we want to ensure that Brits who lived part-year in France benefit from the same kind of protection that all other British residents in France were given via the UK-EU Withdrawal Agreement.
“But our campaign is not only for homeowners, and we would ideally like to see a more inclusive solution that benefits all British visitors who might want to spend extended periods living with their families in France.
“We are hoping France will help us solve the 90-in-180 day problem for all British visitors, regardless of whether or not they own property. So, ultimately we would also like to see every British visitor to France treated in exactly the same way as French visitors to the UK today, and given a 6 month per visit, visa exemption or automatically issued visa. Perhaps like the bilateral arrangements USA, Canada or Japan have. Such a France-specific arrangement would be in addition to the 90-in-180 day Schengen Visa Waiver that Brits would still have for use in the other 27 countries.
“We are enormously appreciative of the work of Senatrice Berthet and the many Senateurs and Députés who put forward and supported amendments to help address the 90-in-180 day problem. Eventually, we want to see a truly reciprocal mobility arrangement between the UK and each EU country, and I’m hopeful we will be able to continue working with French politicians in the coming months to see what can be done.”
Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin “tendered his resignation” on Monday to Emmanuel Macron “who refused it”, following the National Assembly’s rejection of his immigration bill.
14 comments
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SaraExtremely well said!
I don't see what the problem is here. If you (British) want to level the playing field, why not simply change your rules to be the same as the Schengen rules ie 90/180 days? It's easier for you to change your rules than to expect numerous other countries to change their rules. It's also worth reminding you that your government specifically requested that you be restricted by the 90/180 day travel rules when they went to huge lengths to secure the hardest possible form of Brexit. Surely nobody is surprised by any of this? Apparently everyone knew precisely what they were voting for in the EU referendum, no? You can still spend six months per annum in the EU, you just need to leave for 90 days. All this endless complaining about something the UK brought upon itself looks rather arrogant and entitled.
Richard PearsonYes I saw that although I don’t think ‘pragmatic’ was the word I was looking for. Before I answer may I ask why you mention German visitors to Spain? The last I knew Germany was still in the EU and Schengen. As to your question I personally don’t care whether it’s 90+90 or 180 all in one go. The point is that 90+90 is a Schengen rule that was decided way back for third countries, when the UK was still part of the EU. I don’t know that the UK objected then to it being applied to third countries but now that it affects the UK itself some people want the rule changed to suit themselves. Rules are rules whether you like them or not (you obviously don’t) and there is no reason why the UK should be treated any differently from other third countries. What makes you so special? Spain has no particular interest in pushing for the rule to be changed. There is no advantage this end. We have much bigger problems to worry about. In fact it’s all a storm in a teacup and fake news anyway. A junior civil servant at the Foreign Ministry happened to make some off the cuff remark (it wasn’t the Foreign Minister himself as reported), this was picked up by some UK tabloid reporter then published by other tabloids and finally the MDB. All a mountain out of a molehill but as you can see it makes good clickbait. So in summary I neither defend nor oppose either method in particular, just find it irritating that now you are out of the EU by your own choice you still interfere and want to change EU rulings. I think the UK currently has far bigger problems of its own to resolve.
SaraYou will have seen that I answered your question. I have one for you now. Can you give me one valid reason why the EU applies the 90+90 rule instead of allowing visitors to choose their dates up to a maximum of 180 ?
o bMaybe not French or Spanish, but there are plenty from the Middle East, Asia and Africa, and previously Russia, who do take advantage of the 180 day ruling. I sometimes wonder why the defenders of the 90+90 ruling are so belligerent about it, when it has been imposed by people who fly back and forth at will on subsidized tickets (by you, the tax payer) and pay little to no tax on earnings made in a foreign territory, but deny their “voters” the right to do the same thing. Land owners and serfs springs to mind. Obey, obey, and don’t dare complain.
AndrewDo you know any :-D ?
Pragmatic. The British are, generally, a very law abiding people, but at the same time dislike rules that impose on their individual freedoms. The EU in contrast, owes it’s survival on imposing rules and regulations on every single detail of it’s citizens lives. Therefore the British have realised that by giving it’s visitors more (and less) than 90 days at any one time, gives them the option to choose what is best for them, and not what some unelected burocrat in Brussels decided it should be. Surely the British option would be welcomed by German visitors to Spain as well, or is it just the British being British, eg practical and using common sense to solve a problem which really shouldn’t exist ?
Richard PearsonCorrect but they’re not ‘exactly’ the same as the UK allows 180 days in all in one go whereas the EU splits it into 90 + 90 and therein lies the problem for some as it appears they would prefer the former method to apply in the EU too. That’s what I meant by beneficial. Maybe that is not the correct English word? Please do feel free to indicate which word I should have used. 🤔
SaraCorrect me if I am wrong, but I don’t understand what you mean by “beneficial”. The UK’s rules are exactly the same as the EU’s. 180 days in, 180 days out.
Correction: missing the point, not missing the p point!