The predicted landslide didn't quite happen, but Nicolas Sarkozy is a happy man nonetheless. Despite his party's losses in the second round of the parliamentary elections in France, Sarkozy has enough backing to push through his presidential agenda and quickly at that. The International Herald Tribune provided an update on just how quickly Monsieur Le President is moving ahead on his election promises with respect to immigration. Last week, when the campaign was still in full swing, Brice Hortefeux, the newly appointed minister for all things immigration watched the ink dry on a new legislative bill. The new law requires family members of resident migrants from outside the EU to learn French and gain an understanding for French values ahead of joining their own in France. The German government is floating a similar regulation with its recent decision on residence rights for migrants.
The bill will be one of the first up for debate in the newly elected parliament's summer session. We will keep a close watch on these developments as they progress in the coming weeks.
