France, May 26 -- Attal, who formally announced his candidacy for the 2027 election on Friday, said on Tuesday that France should "take in fewer people in order to take them in better".

Speaking on France Inter radio, the leader of the Renaissance party argued that economic immigration should be central to France's migration policy.

"What I will be championing in this campaign is a preference for labour," Attal said. "Economic immigration must become the priority of our migration policy."

He said he would propose tightening the rules on family reunification, including by increasing the length of time a foreign resident must have lived in France before being able to bring over a spouse.

Under current rules, family reunification allows ...