“There weren’t so many disagreements, but we didn’t come with the purpose of seeking agreements. The meeting was not intended to be conclusive,” the aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity in line with French professional norms, added.
Retailleau, a hard-line figure in the conservative Les Républicains party, has faced criticism from Macron and his centrist allies over his tough stance on immigration, a top issue for the interior minister.
After losing control of the lower house in this summer’s snap election, Macron struck a deal with Les Républicains to form a fragile minority government. This alliance allowed Macron to maintain a grip on power but has forced him to share it — both with conservative Prime Minister Michel Barnier and Cabinet members who, at times, lean further to the right than the president is comfortable with.
Retailleau and Barnier are pushing for a crackdown on both legal and illegal immigration while Macron attempts to hold a more moderate line in the context of a rightward shift on migration across the European Union.
The Barnier government has pledged to increase the enforcement rate of deportation orders, which is currently extremely low, partly due to geopolitical tensions with the countries of origin of many immigrants living in France without legal permission.
Retailleau has faced criticism after recently saying that immigration was “not beneficial” to France and that the État de droit, a French concept akin to the rule of law, was neither “intangible nor sacred.”
