The rule had been maintained since 1958 and, during the Fifth Republic, it had never been broken, until October 30th, when the French National Assembly approved a bill presented by the extreme right. Marine Le Pen’s National Regrouping (RN) managed to see its resolution approved to revoke the Franco-Algerian agreement of December 27, 1968, with 185 votes in favor and 184 against.
The last time that the extreme right had achieved majority support for a proposal, recalls the daily “Libération”, it was on July 10, 1940, when Parliament gave full powers to Philippe Pétain. The soldier would head a French government that collaborated with Nazi Germany.
The 1960s agreement with Algiers established a special regime for Algerian citizens in Francecompared to what applied to other foreigners. The RN motion had been scheduled as part of its special parliamentary session, in which the party is allowed to control the day’s debate agenda.