Overview

• De Villiers unveiled an online petition at referendum-immigration.com calling for a nationwide vote on immigration policy.
• He frames immigration as an existential issue and says a referendum is the only way to, in his words, return decision-making to the public.
• The initiative seeks a mass of signatures to force the issue onto the political agenda ahead of the presidential cycle, with no government commitment to a vote reported.
• Legal uncertainty looms as past efforts on the right, including a shared-initiative referendum pushed by Les Républicains, were rejected by the Conseil constitutionnel.
• Coverage citing Le Journal du Dimanche highlights 2024 figures—343,000 first residence permits, over 150,000 asylum requests, and about 21,600 removals—to argue the system is under strain, while De Villiers re-enters the media spotlight before publishing Populicide on October 8.