Macron defends new French migration law despite political tensions

FILE PHOTO: French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a meeting with members of the research community about the vision of the future of the French research, at the Presidential Elysee Palace in Paris, France, on December 7, 2023. LUDOVIC MARIN/Pool via REUTERS/ FILE PHOTO

PARIS (Reuters) -French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday defended a bill to toughen immigration laws despite an embarrassing parliamentary vote that put his ruling alliance on the same side as Marine Le Pen's Rassemblement national party.

The legislation, approved by both houses late on Tuesday, was initially good news for the centrist president, who made the migration bill a key plank of his second mandate and might otherwise have had to shelve it.