Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

POLITICS

Six things for the French government to deal with in 2020

It's fair to say that the French government has been a little busy of late - what with battling a global pandemic and all - but as France is gradually reopening a revised parliamentary schedule has been put forward.

Published: 17 June 2020 16:46 CEST
Six things for the French government to deal with in 2020
Those socially distanced cabinet meetings will have a lot to get through this year. Photo: AFP

Since March the French parliament has been sitting only in a limited form – with only a few dozen MPs in the chamber and most voting being done remotely or by proxy – and the vast majority of parliamentary time has been devoted to health and lockdown measures.

But as France continues its gradual reopening a revised schedule has been put forward and several matters that were postponed during the crisis are now back on the table.

Here's a look at the major items on the government's to-do list.

1. Pension reform

Remember that? The thing that caused France's longest running strikes since 1968 back in December and January? On January 15th, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe was saying that there was “no question of slowing down or delaying” the reforms, which just goes to show that you should never make predictions.

The bill to dramatically overhaul the pension system has already been through the Assemblée nationale, but its reading in the Senate was postponed by the crisis. Unless the senators adopt all the articles without modification – which seems unlikely given how controversial it was – the bill will then have to come back to the lower house for a further reading.

In its last reading the government adopted a controversial measure known as Section 49.3 to force the bill through. There is currently no timetable for this bill to be debated again.

“Do we still need to reform pensions? Yes. […] Should it be pursued now, it will be up to the President and the Prime Minister to decide, […] but the problem remains on the table,” Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire told France Info on June 11th.

The Senate has its own elections in September and usually discusses finance bills in the autumn so there is some speculation that this bill might not even be presented before the end of the year.

Plans to reform pensions sparked huge strikes in December 2019 and January 2020. Photo: AFP

2. Unemployment benefits reform

The overhaul of the French benefits system comes in two parts and the first part – which tightened up access to the system and introduced a longer qualifying period – came into force last year.

The second part was due to come into force in March, but has now been postponed until September. One of its more controversial aspect was the change to the rules in how seasonal workers can claim benefits in the 'off' season, which lead to strikes in French ski resorts.

There are now consultations on this and the government will make a decision “by the summer”.

3. Bioethics bill

A bill that, among other things, extends IVF treatment to single women and lesbian couples will come back before the Assemblée nationale on July 6th for its second reading, having already gone through the Senate.

Despite polls showing that a majority of French people support the move, the bill was marked by protests from religious and socially conservative groups.

“The law of bioethics carries many societal advances, it is a text which is awaited by our fellow-citizens”, said junior health minister Adrien Taquet when announcing its debate date.
 
People demonstrating in favour of extending IVF treatments. Photo: AFP
 
4. Local elections
 
These don't directly involve the government – apart from Prime Minister Edouard Philippe who is standing in the mayoral election in Le Harve – but are traditionally seen as a mid-term indicator of how the major parties are doing.
 
The first round of voting went ahead on March 15th – something which Emmanuel Macron received a good deal of criticism for – but the second round was postponed and will now be held on June 28th.
 
5. The economy
 
This is going to be the major challenge for this government – and most other governments around the world – for the rest of the year and into 2021.
 
All countries are likely to be very hard hit by the months when their economies were at a virtual standstill. The Bank of France predicts an 11 percent GDP contraction this year – the worst recession since World War II.
 
Unemployment will likely pass 11.5 percent in mid-2021, the central bank said, adding that the economy will only recover to pre-crisis levels by mid-2022.
 
President Emmanuel Macron will be making another live TV address to the nation in July, which is likely to focus heavily on his plans to drag the country back from the financial brink.
 
 
6. Coronavirus
 
On top of that, of course, the government will be keeping a very close eye on the virus situation in the country, especially in the autumn when some experts are predicting a 'second wave' will happen.
 
A bill is also coming before parliament from June 17th to give authorities extra powers to put in place local health restrictions if further outbreaks occur. This would replace the State of Health Emergency which gives wide-ranging powers to introduce harsh restrictions such as a lockdown and which expires on July 10th.
 
The head of the government's Scientific Council says France will not return to a nationwide lockdown even if there is a second wave, but local lockdown restrictions could come back if there are severe outbreaks.
 

All in all, it would be fair to say that there is a challenging year ahead.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

TRAVEL NEWS

What’s the deal with passport stamping in France?

There are clear guidelines in place about who should have their passport stamped when they enter or leave France - but the letter of the law doesn't always seem to be applied on the ground. Here's what you need to know.

Published: 17 May 2024 14:24 CEST
What's the deal with passport stamping in France?

When you pass through a French border control post, officers will check your passport and – in some cases – stamp the date of your entry or exit of the country onto one of the blank pages in the booklet.

Although the system should be clear and simple, it becomes complicated when conflicting information is given on the ground.

Here’s what the rules say, and whether it’s really a problem if your passport is incorrectly stamped.

Who should be stamped?

The purpose of the date stamps for entry and exit is to calculate how long you have been in France, and therefore whether you have overstayed your allowed time – whether that is the time allowed by a short-stay Schengen visa or the visa-free 90-day allowance that certain non-EU nationals benefit from. 

Those people who are exempt from 90-day restrictions should therefore not have their passports stamped.

EU passport – people who have an EU passport should not have it stamped, because they have the right to unlimited stays due to EU freedom of movement.

Dual nationals – people who have passports of both EU and non-EU countries should not be stamped when they are travelling on their EU passport. However, because the passports of dual nationals are not ‘linked’, those travelling on their non-EU passports will be stamped, unless they have other proof of residency.

READ ALSO What are the rules for dual-nationals travelling in France?

French residents – the passports of non-EU citizens who have a residency permit in France (carte de séjour) should not be stamped, because they have the right to stay in France for as long as their permit is valid.

Visa holders – people who have a long-stay visa or a short-stay visitor visa should not be stamped, because they have the right to stay in France for as long as their visa is valid. 

Tourists/visitors – people making short visits to France who do not have a visa should be stamped, with the stamps keeping track of their 90-day allowance. Visitors from nationalities who do not benefit from the 90-day rule (eg Indians) are also stamped.

Travel practicalities

When crossing a French border, you should present your passport along with other documents – visa or carte de séjour – if relevant. Don’t wait for border guards to ask whether you are a resident.

It should be noted that the carte de séjour is not a travel document and cannot be used to cross borders, not even internal Schengen zone borders. The only valid travel documents for entering France are a passport or national ID card. Any other forms of ID – driving licence, residency card etc – cannot be used for travel purposes.

Border problems

While the rules on stamping are simple in theory, many readers of The Local have reported having their passports incorrectly stamped at the border, and this seems to be a particular problem for non-EU nationals who are resident in France.

Travellers are also often given incorrect information by border guards – for example being told that only holders of the post-Brexit Article 50 TUE carte de séjour are exempt from stamping, that all non-EU nationals must have their passports stamped or that only being married to a French national exempts you from stamping.

None of these are correct.

It’s also sometimes the case that people whose passports should be stamped – tourists, visitors and second-home owners who don’t have a visa – do not receive the stamp. For frequent visitors this can be a problem because it looks as though they have had a long stay in France, due to their exit not being recorded.

The system of stamping itself is also a bit haphazard with stamps scattered throughout the passport book in random order, so border guards sometimes make mistakes and miss an entry or exit stamp and therefore think that people have overstayed when they haven’t.

So how much of a problem actually is it if your passport is wrongly stamped?

It’s one thing to know the rules yourself, it’s quite another to have an argument with a border guard, in French, when a long queue is building behind you. Numerous Local readers have reported feeling that they had no choice but to accept a stamp when an implacable guard insisted upon it.

But is this really a problem?

One thing is clear – if you are a resident of France then you have the right to re-enter, and your proof of residency (visa or carte de séjour) takes precedence over any passport stamps. So it’s not a question of being barred from the country – it can, however, be inconvenient as it might lead to delays at the border while your passport record is queried.

Meanwhile people who did not receive correct exit stamps can be incorrectly told that they have over-stayed and even be liable for a fine. 

Will the new EES passport control system improve this?

Theoretically, the EU’s new Entry & Exit System – which does away with the manual stamping of passports – should get rid of these problems.

However, as we have seen, theory and what actually happens on the ground are two different things.

The EES system, due to come into effect later this year, brings in two main changes – it makes passport checks more secure by adding diometric data such as fingerprints and facial scans and it does away with manual stamping of passports and replaces it with scans which automatically calculate how long people have been in France.

You can read full details of how it works HERE. 

So that should eliminate the problems of unclear stamps, stamps being read wrongly or passports not getting the stamps they need.

Residents in France – carte de séjour and visa holders – are not required to complete EES checks and should have a separate system at ports, airports and railway terminals.

However, at present it’s pretty common for border guards to give incorrect information to non-EU residents who are resident in the EU – let’s hope that they are properly briefed before EES is deployed.

Have you had problems with passports being incorrectly stamped? Please share your experiences in the comments section below

SHOW COMMENTS