[ad_1]
National Assembly lawmakers approve a bill that critics say will unfairly target France’s Muslim population.
French lawmakers have approved a controversial bill that the government says will strengthen the country’s secular principles, but critics say it could undermine civil rights, especially those of the 5.7 million Muslim community. people.
Tuesday’s vote on the so-called “anti-separatism” bill, presented by President Emmanuel Macron, paves the way for its adoption in the months.
The legislators of the National Assembly of the lower house, dominated by the centrist Macron, La République en marche! (LREM), voted 347 against 151 in favor of the bill with 65 abstentions.
The legislation will now be passed by France’s upper house, the Conservative-led Senate. The Senate has the power to amend the bill, but it should give the green light.
“This is an extremely strong secular offensive,” Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told RTL radio ahead of the vote on Tuesday. “It is a difficult text … but necessary for the republic.”
Among more than 70 separate articles, the law expands the state’s ability to shut down places of worship and religious schools, as well as to ban preachers it considers “extremist.”
Amid concerns about foreign funding for mosques, he is forcing religious groups to report large foreign donations and have their accounts certified.
It comes with presidential elections looming next year and with decades-long divisions over the integration of France’s sizable Muslim population.
‘Counter-society’
Macron and Darmanin in particular have been accused of bowing to far-right voters by exaggerating the danger of groups he calls Islamists in the often marginalized immigrant communities of French suburbs.
The government retorts that the threat is real, pointing to repeated attacks and what Macron has called the development of a “counter-society” that rejects secularism, equality and other French values and laws.
As the campaign ahead of presidential and parliamentary elections is already heating up, the right-wing opposition Republicans (LR) party and the far-right National Rally have both said the bill does not go far enough.
They called for restrictions on wearing the veil known as the hijab, which they both see as a manifestation of Islamism rather than an expression of cultural identity or religious piety.
The government has rejected calls for a broader headscarf ban, but the law will extend the demand for “religious neutrality” in clothing to people working for private companies providing public services.
Critics say Macron is looking to harden his record on radical Islam and security ahead of a likely re-match with far-right leader Marine Le Pen in next year’s election.
He recently launched an initiative to ask eight federations representing Muslims in France to sign a 10-point “charter of principles”, which three refused.
The 43-year-old head of state is also accused of doing too little to tackle discrimination and racism, although new law and funding have been pledged to help marginalized communities.
About 200 people demonstrated in Paris on Sunday against the bill, accusing it of “increasing discrimination against Muslims”.
In January, a group of academics and activists wrote in the newspaper Liberation that the law was “an unprecedented blow” to religious freedom and the freedom to form associations.
[ad_2]
Source link
