PARIS, Sept. 15 (UPI) -- The French government is shelving a planned law that would have authorized DNA tests for immigrants seeking to join their relatives in France.
Passed by the French Parliament in 2007, the law was due to come into effect by the end of the year but has been consistently delayed because of protests.
French Interior Minister Eric Besson said Sunday there was not enough time to sign and implement the law by the Dec. 31 deadline. He also admitted the controversial policy had damaged France's image abroad.
"We could just give it up altogether, which is my preferred option, because in the end it serves no purpose other than to bring the image of France into disrepute," Besson told French radio station Europe 1 on Sunday.
The law was part of an immigration bill passed in 2007, shortly after Nicolas Sarkozy became president. It was aimed at toughening immigration into France, by proposing DNA tests for long-term visa applicants with dubious birth or marriage certificates. It would have allowed officials to "propose" to applicants that they take a test at their own expense to prove a biological link with other family members, in a bid to speed up the application process, the bill's proponents said.
But immigrant groups have bashed the law, developed by former Interior Minister Brice Hortefeux, as stigmatizing immigrants from Africa, who often have extended family members who are adopted. The law singled out immigrants from Angola, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Cap Verde, Dominican Republic, Guinea-Conakry, Ghana, Madagascar and Pakistan.
Privacy-rights groups were also concerned that the test results remained confidential.
Besson in the radio interview said the logistical problems connected to DNA testing at French consulates were another reason for opposing the law.
"The genetic samples should be taken by a doctor," he said. "Our consulates aren't equipped for that. We'd need to invest a lot of resources for a very marginal interest."
Besson's refusal to sign the law was met with praise in France.
SOS Racisme, one of the country's leading anti-racism groups, said it was happy that "the detestable chapter of DNA tests for family reunification is closed for once and for all."
Jean-Pierre Dubois, head of French group The Human Rights League, welcomed the shelving of a measure he deems "scandalous and inappropriate."
