(National-UAE) Senior French officials have rallied behind Karim Bouamrane, a prominent mayor of Moroccan origin, in response to remarks widely viewed as racist by a researcher who said he is “Muslim in appearance” and suggested his popularity comes from his refusal to […]
(Middle East Eye) The new French interior minister, Bruno Retailleau, has declared that he is not ruling out classifying the Muslim Brotherhood as a “terrorist” group and banning it, while advocating for the establishment of a new criminal offence to fight political […]
(AP) France’s new government is set to take a hardline approach to migration issues as key officials have pledged to significantly reduce the number of people entering and staying illegally in the country. After calling for snap legislative elections in June, President […]
(Reuters) France is likely to see much tougher immigration and security measures to reflect a broad rightward shift in society, its new interior minister said in remarks hinting at the minority government’s dependence on the tacit support of the far right. Bruno […]
(Middle East Monitor) The Administrative Court in Nice yesterday overturned an order to close the Avicenne Middle School in the French city. “Errors in the institution’s books do not justify taking such a final action,” said the court. “Avicenne School emerged stronger […]
(AP) France’s government on Wednesday ordered the dissolution of multiple extreme right and radical Muslim groups, four days before the first round of high-stakes legislative elections that may see a surge in support for political extremes. Snap national elections called by pro-business […]
(AFP) Muslim voters are increasingly worried about the prospect of a far-right victory less than two weeks before France’s snap parliamentary elections, fearing the possible restrictions that could follow. For Sarah, there’s a “real risk” of seeing the National Rally (RN) win […]
(AFP) Prime Minister Gabriel Attal on Wednesday defended French secularism following the resignation of a Paris school principal who received death threats after asking a student to remove her Muslim veil on the premises. Attal, a former education minister, said the state […]
(Reuters) The French far-right Rassemblement National (RN) of Marine Le Pen kicked off the party’s campaign for the European elections in June on Sunday saying the vote will be a referendum on immigration. Opinion polls show RN is set to make large […]
(Politico) Geert Wilders may be just the tip of the iceberg. Following the anti-Islam politician’s shock election win in the Netherlands, European elites are nervously scanning the political landscape for signs of what’s to come — including further surprise wins from far-right […]
(AFP) French President Emmanuel Macron’s party on Friday apologised for inviting to the Elysee Palace a comedian convicted of making death threats after his presence sparked an uproar on the right. Conservative and far-right figures have been quick to make the link […]
(Politico) With the ban on abayas in schools, French President Emmanuel Macron is killing two birds with one stone: He sends a signal to the right and divides the left. But he also risks opening a Pandora’s box. The decision to forbid […]
(AFP) A French women’s football collective seeking to overthrow a ban on players wearing the Islamic veil during [matches] scored a crucial legal goal on Monday in their judicial fight to force a rule change. Under its current rules, the French Football […]
(AFP) A reported increase in Muslim girls wearing the abaya dress at French schools has triggered a debate about their violation of the country’s sacrosanct commitment to secularism in education. France’s identity has long been wedded to its conception of secularism in […]
(AFP) France’s top administrative court on Tuesday blocked a bid to allow the “burkini” at municipal pools in the city of Grenoble, upholding a government challenge against a move that revived France’s intense debate on Islam. The all-in-one swimsuit, used by some […]
(AFP) The French city of Grenoble on Monday authorised the wearing of the so-called “burkini” by Muslim women in state-run swimming pools, reigniting one of France’s most contentious debates on religous dress. The all-in-one swimsuit, used by some Muslim women to cover […]
(AFP) French far-right TV pundit-turned-politician Eric Zemmour said Thursday he would seek a seat in parliament standing in the glitzy constituency around Saint-Tropez, three weeks after failing with a presidential bid. The Paris-born 63-year-old is seeking to establish his new party, Reconquest, […]
(Reuters) A draft bill that would ban the wearing of the hijab in sporting competitions will pass on to France’s National Assembly after the Senate on Wednesday declined to vote on the legislation. The broader bill is devoted to “democratising sport,” including […]
(AFP) France’s gender equality minister threw her support on Thursday behind Muslim women footballers who are seeking to overturn a ban on players wearing headscarves on the pitch. Rules set by the French Football Federation currently prevent players taking part in competitive […]
(AP) The French government on Saturday introduced a new body to reshape Islam in France, part of President Emmanuel Macron’s efforts to rid it of extremism. The Forum of Islam in France leadership will be made up of clergy and lay people […]
(AP) The French Senate has voted in favor of banning the wearing of headscarves in sports competitions, arguing that neutrality is a requirement on the field of play. The French upper legislative house voted late Tuesday in favor of amending a proposed […]
(France 24) The French National Assembly on Friday approved a controversial “anti-separatism” bill despite strong criticisms from parliamentarians from the left and the right. The government argued the legislation was needed to bolster France’s secular system, but critics say it breaches religious […]
(Reuters) Laboratory technician Sara Zemmahi was running to be a local councillor backed by President Emmanuel Macron’s ruling party until last month when it withdrew its support. Her transgression: wearing her hijab in a campaign poster. The 26-year-old and the three other […]
(AP) France’s long-standing debate over the Muslim headscarf has landed in a local political race, giving it a national message, with a decision by President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist party to withdraw its backing for a candidate because she was pictured in a […]
(AFP) The head of French President Emmanuel Macron’s political party has threatened to withdraw support for one of their own candidates in regional elections after she wore a headscarf for a campaign poster. The warning from Stanislas Guerini, who helped found Macron’s […]
(AFP) Will Emmanuel Macron, the political wunderkind who steamrolled France’s establishment parties to win power as a centrist insurgent in 2017, survive a re-election battle overshadowed by Covid-19 next year? Or could the youngest French leader since Napoleon become just a one-term […]
(National-UAE) The beheading of a schoolteacher and the killing of a female police [employee] in terrorist attacks have resulted in a demand for tougher action to combat extremists in France. A so-called anti-separatism bill, which seeks to clamp down on extremism and […]
(AFP) Thousands of protesters gathered in several French cities and Israel on Sunday to denounce a court’s refusal of a trial for a man who killed a 65-year-old Jewish woman, after experts determined he acted in a “delirious fit” due to heavy […]
(Radio France) France’s right-wing majority Senate has approved proposals including expanded bans on religious symbols and clothing in a set of new draft laws to counter what President Emmanuel Macron has called Islamist separatism. Critics say the new measures, which may not […]
(Al-Jazeera) As the French Senate prepares to debate the so-called “anti-separatism” bill, human rights group Amnesty International has made a last-minute appeal for “many problematic provisions” of the draft law to be scrapped or amended. The Senate debate on Tuesday comes after […]
(Breitbart) A poll has revealed 69 per cent of French, nearly 7 in 10, say that there is a problem with an ideology of “Islamo-leftism” in the country. The Odoxa-Backbone consulting poll found that a comfortable majority of respondents believed there was a […]
(AFP) France’s lower house of parliament on Tuesday voted in favour of a law to battle “Islamist separatism” that is billed by the government as a riposte to religious groups attempting to undermine the secular state. The draft legislation, which has been […]
(AFP) French President Emmanuel Macron is seeking to gain ground on far-right leader Marine Le Pen ahead of a possible duel in 2022 elections by seizing votes on the right, with a tough-talking interior minister and a bill cracking down on radical […]
(Radio France) A new offence of “separatism” was supported unanimously in the French lower house on Thursday with 130 votes in favour and 4 abstentions. The bill is part of President Emmanuel Macron’s bid to stamp out any behaviour considered contrary to […]
(Politico) It’s a French draft law that attracted huge controversy before it was even published — and doesn’t even mention the issue that President Emmanuel Macron says it’s meant to address: “Islamist separatism.” The concern that Islamist extremists are creating communities and […]
(AFP) French authorities will inspect dozens of mosques and prayer halls suspected of radical teachings starting Thursday as part of a crackdown on Islamist extremists following a spate of attacks, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said. Darmanin told RTL radio that if any […]
(AFP) French authorities on Tuesday ordered an investigation into the “brutal” removal by police of a camp of migrants in central Paris, as parliament gave initial approval to a new security law condemned by activists as eroding press freedom. Interior Minister Gerald […]
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(Politico) French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin faced ridicule and criticism on Wednesday for expressing shock at dedicated aisles in supermarkets for halal and kosher food. Darmanin told BFM TV late on Tuesday that he has “always been shocked to walk into a […]
(Radio France) An MP from President Macron’s centrist LREM party led a walkout after a student union leader appeared for a parliamentary inquiry hearing wearing a hijab. In line with French laws on secularity designed to keep religion and the state separate, […]
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(Deutsche Welle) Antoine* is used to standing his ground. The trade unionist has defended workers’ rights his whole life. But when his daughter M. suddenly left to join so-called Islamic State (IS) in Iraq five years ago, he hit rock bottom. “It […]
(Politico) France adopted a law against online hate speech Wednesday that will target Silicon Valley giants amid controversy surrounding the lawmaker in charge of the bill. After months of debate, the lower house of Parliament adopted the controversial legislation, which will require […]
(Connexion) The French Senate has voted to ban parents from displaying any signs of religion or wearing religious clothing when accompanying their children on public school trips. The measure was voted through on Tuesday, October 29, by 163 votes to 114, with […]
(AP) When a far-right French official disrupted a regional council meeting to demand that a Muslim woman accompanying a group of schoolchildren be ordered to remove her headscarf, “in the name of our secular principles,” her own child buried his head in […]
(Breitbart) An Ifop survey has discovered that nearly two-thirds of French people, or 61 per cent, believe that Islam is “incompatible with the values of French society.” The results are an eight per cent increase compared to a previous study released in […]
(AFP) A new row over secularism and the wearing of the Islamic hijab in public buildings has erupted in France after a far-right politician asked a woman accompanying her son and other children on a school trip to remove her headscarf. The […]
(Reuters) French police have re-opened an internal investigation into the suspected Islamist sympathies of a senior police officer, three sources close to the police said, as part of a security review after a police IT worker killed four colleagues in a knife […]
(AFP) With an eye on re-election, France’s Emmanuel Macron has signalled a tougher line on immigration, arguing that the government must end its “lax” approach to prevent voters from drifting to the far right. Setting out his priorities for the second half […]
(Breitbart) French media have leaked details from a report on Islamic extremism within the French public service, claiming that many in the public sector are concerned about Islamist infiltration. The new report, which has been compiled by MPs Éric Diard of the conservative […]
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