PARIS, France - French lawmakers and senators prepared to hammer out a compromise over a beleaguered immigration bill on Monday as President Emmanual Macron's government hoped to salvage what is seen as a flagship reform of his second term.
France has a long tradition of welcoming refugees and immigrants, but a rise in the number of asylum seekers, a chronic affordable-housing shortage, and a cost-of-living crisis have worsened social tensions in the country.
French authorities have been seeking to push through legislation to harden France's immigration law but members of the right-wing and left-wing opposition last week joined forces to vote down the draft law without even debating the measures.
The outcome is deeply frustrating for Macron, who many see as a potential lame duck as he sits out the rest of his term without being able to implement his reform agenda.
The government, which does not have a majority in parliament, has been locked in intense talks with the opposition in a bid to rescue the proposed legislation over the past week.
A mixed parliamentary commission consisting of seven upper house senators and seven lower house lawmakers was expected to meet from 5:00 pm (1600 GMT) Monday in a bid to thrash out a compromise text.
The bill would then be put to a vote in both chambers on Tuesday.
'Progressing positively'
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin indicated that agreement with the conservative Republicans, whose cooperation is crucial, was possible.
"We are closer to an agreement than a disagreement," Darmanin, who has championed the bill, said on French news channel LCI.
"At this stage we cannot speak of an agreement" but "it is progressing positively," he said.
He added that "a lot of details" had yet to be agreed upon.
"We also have our red lines, we cannot accept just anything."
But Bruno Retailleau, who presides over the Republicans group in the Senate, said the latest version of the bill was "not completely satisfactory."
The failure of the bill would be a "magnificent" boost for hard-right figurehead Marine Le Pen, Darmanin said.
"Madame Le Pen doesn't want these solutions, she wants problems," he said.
Minister for Solidarity Aurore Berge signalled concessions might be needed to achieve a result.
"If we don't have a text voted through the National Assembly and the Senate, it will be a victory of just one camp, the Rassemblement National," she said.
If the parliamentary commission agrees a compromise text, there is no guarantee it would not again face obstacles in the lower house, the National Assembly.
A parliamentary source estimated at the weekend that around 10 percent of the 251 deputies from the presidential camp could abstain or vote against the bill.
Alexis Corbiere, a member of the radical left La France Insoumise (France Unbowed), said he was "betting that there won't be a full majority on this text".
'Risk of paralysis'
Originally proposed by Macron's centrist government with a mix of steps to expel more undocumented people and improve migrants' integration, the draft law has been hardened during its earlier passage through the upper house, which is controlled by the right.
The current version has however been criticised by both the far right and the far left for opposing reasons.
The left have said the bill should be dropped, while the far right say Macron's plan to reform immigration law does not go far enough.
Speaking in Brussels on Friday, Macron called for an "intelligent compromise."
French daily Le Monde said Macron faced the risk of political "paralysis".
"Anxious to move quickly, he runs the risk of granting too many concessions to the Republicans," said the newspaper.
Advocacy groups have criticised the bill, saying France relies on migrants -- including undocumented workers -- in many industries.
France's immigrant population is estimated at 5.1 million, or 7.6 percent of the population. The authorities believe there are between 600,000 to 700,000 illegal immigrants in the country.