ISTANBUL 

The French parliament adopted a bill Tuesday to limit birthright citizenship in its overseas department of Mayotte, according to the Ouest France newspaper.

The bill proposed by the conservative Republican party looks to restrict birthright citizenship in the French archipelago in the Indian Ocean between the coast of Mozambique and the island of Madagascar.

It is supported by the governing coalition and far-right deputies while the leftists were against the bill, considering it an “attack on the principle of equality.”

Children born in the archipelago can obtain French nationality later if at least one parent has been legally residing in France for at least three months at the time of birth.

Under the new law, both parents will be required to have been residing legally in France for at least one year.

The goal of the bill is to reduce migratory pressure on the archipelago, mainly from neighboring Comoros.

French Prime Minister Francois Bayrou cited immigration in Mayotte in January, when he described it as “submersion,” claiming the scale of illegal immigration in Mayotte, where Comoros migrants account for an estimated 25% of the population, justifies the term.