After months of parliamentary wrangling, France’s National Assembly voted late on May 5 to authorise up to 210 days of administrative detention for undocumented foreigners judged to present a ‘real, present and particularly serious’ threat to public order. The bill – adopted by 345 votes to 177 – triples the current 90-day ceiling (180 days for convicted terrorists) and revives a measure struck down by the Constitutional Council last summer for lack of proportionality. Supporters, led by Renaissance deputy Charles Rodwell and backed by the Interior Ministry, argue that longer detention gives police and prefectures the time they need to obtain consular travel documents and organise deportation charters, avoiding the highly unpopular release of high-risk individuals when deadlines expire. Opponents from the left and several NGOs denounce what they see as “automatic, carceral immigration policy” and warn that France’s detention centres – which held more than 40,000 people in 2024 – are already overcrowded. The text now moves to the Senate, where the right-of-centre majority is expected to give swift approval, meaning the new time-limits could take effect before the summer peak in removals. For global-mobility managers the change is significant: employees or contractors without valid status who also have criminal records may now face seven months in a Centre de Rétention Administrative, lengthening compliance exposure for multinational firms and raising duty-of-care costs (legal aid, family assistance, travel re-booking). Companies should review internal screening and ensure rapid regularisation or repatriation procedures to limit this risk.
Source: The Local France
