Emmanuel Macron's government will propose toughening France's immigration and asylum laws amid strident criticism from human rights groups, in a move that will test the unity of his left-and-right majority.
The bill will double to 90 days the time in which illegal migrants can be detained and shorten deadlines to apply for asylum, and it will make the illegal crossing of borders an offence punishable by one year in jail and fines.
The government said it wants to be both firm and fair on immigration, and the bill would also make it easier for minors to get asylum and will aim to cut by half the time it takes for authorities to process any asylum request.
But, while Macron's parliamentary majority, a mix of politicians who have their roots both in right- and left-wing parties, has so far been very united, the government's migration plans have triggered disquiet in its ranks.
Macron is accustomed to glowing international tributes as a breath of fresh air since his election in May last year on promises of a break with government framed by left-versus-right politics.
But the migration bill has concentrated criticism at home.
It might however prove popular with voters. A BVA opinion poll earlier this month showed that 63 per cent of French voters consider there are too many immigrants in France.
The number of people filing asylum requests in France hit a record in 2017, topping 100,000.
That was still well below the 186,000 arrivals of asylum seekers registered that same year in Germany, even if arrivals in Germany have dropped sharply since reaching 890,000 in 2015, when unprecedented flows overwhelmed Europe's border controls.
