A FRENCH migrant rights group on Wednesday labelled a new immigration law the “most repressive and abusive” ever passed by the country.

This comes as the French National Assembly passed a controversial immigration Bill on Tuesday that critics claim plays into the hands of National Rally (RN) leader Marine Le Pen.

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday that the new Bill negotiated with conservatives is imperfect and needs some fixes but is “what the French wanted,” and is not a victory for the far right.

“It’s the fruit of a compromise,” Mr Macron said.

Tuesday’s vote on the Bill came after a deal was struck between Mr Macron’s Renaissance alliance and the conservative Republicans party.

Critics claim that the Bill in part mimics far-right RN’s long-standing demand for “national preference” by which the French, not foreigners, must profit from the riches of the land.

The Bill strengthens France’s ability to deport foreigners considered undesirable and makes it tougher for foreigners to take advantage of social welfare, among other measures. 

Ms Le Pen described the Bill’s passage as an “ideological victory” for her party.

Left-wing lawmaker Mathilde Panot, president of the France Unbowed group at the National Assembly, called the text a “full-scale attack on fundamental rights.”

Advocacy organisations have criticised the Bill as a threat to the rights of migrants.

Migrants’ rights group Cimade called the Bill “the most repressive and abusive immigration Bill drawn up in the last 40 years” in a statement on the X social media site.

The text still needs to be officially enacted into law.

The Constitutional Council must make sure the Bill’s final version is in line with the constitution, and Mr Macron said he himself would put the measure before the council because he wants certain provisions changed, noting a payment that foreign students must put forth to study in France.