France’s Macron Wins National Assembly Backing for ‘Islamist Separatism’ Bill The proposed legislation heads to the French Senate amid criticism that it stigmatizes Muslims
France’s National Assembly approved a bill Tuesday that aims to strengthen government oversight of mosques and religious schools and crack down on other practices—from online hate speech to forced marriage—that President Emmanuel Macron says are rooted in Islamist separatism.
The proposed legislation passed the National Assembly, or lower house of Parliament, with a vote of 347-151, garnering support from lawmakers in Mr. Macron’s ranks as well as other centrist parties. It now heads to the Senate.
Mr. Macron and his supporters in Parliament have framed the bill as a response to the spread of “Islamist separatism,” which the president describes as an ideology that aims to build a parallel society in France where religious rules override civil laws. That ideology, the Macron government says, undermines the values of the French Republic—liberty, equality and fraternity—as well as laïcité, France’s strict separation of religion and state.
The proposed legislation requires religious associations and mosques to declare foreign funding of more than €10,000 ($12,000), and to sign a pledge to respect France’s republican values to receive state subsidies. The bill would also make it easier for the government to shut down mosques, associations and schools that are found criticizing republican values.
The proposed legislation would make it a criminal offense for anyone, in the name of ideology or religious extremism, to put pressure on civil servants and public-service providers to deviate from France’s secular values. Under its provisions, a man who refuses to allow a male doctor to examine his wife could face up to five years in jail and a fine of up to €75,000.
France’s conservative party Les Républicains voted against the bill, saying it didn’t go far enough. The vote split the National Assembly’s leftist opposition, with lawmakers from the Socialist Party deciding to abstain. Far-left lawmakers voted against the bill, saying it was an unnecessary measure that risked stigmatizing France’s Muslim population, one of the largest in Europe.
“No, it is not in Muslim places of worship that terrorist attacks are organized,” far-left lawmaker Alexis Corbière said on Tuesday, speaking at the National Assembly ahead of the vote. “This text will only fabricate a new halo of suspicion around all Muslim associations,” he added.
The proposed legislation comes on the heels of a string of terrorist attacks in France that have torn at the seams of French society, particularly about the role the educational system is supposed to play in molding the children of French Muslims into citizens of a secular republic.
In October middle-school teacher Samuel Paty was beheaded in a terrorist attack after the father of one of his students posted a video online complaining about the teacher’s decision to display cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad to his class as part of a civics lesson. The attacker, an 18-year-old Russian national of Chechen origin, acted after seeing the video, according to authorities.
Two weeks later, a Tunisian man killed three people in a knife attack at a church in the Riviera city of Nice.
Under the bill’s provisions, the unauthorized posting of someone’s personal details online to expose them to harm is punishable with a fine of €45,000 and up to three years in jail.
Some Muslim leaders worry that the increased government oversight of religious associations that run mosques will make Muslims feel as if they are being unfairly targeted.
The new rules “could be interpreted as generalized suspicion against these associations,” said Mohammed Moussaoui, the president of the French Council of Muslim Faith, during a parliamentary hearing on the proposed legislation. By increasing police powers, the bill could also lead to arbitrary closures, some Muslim leaders say.
French authorities launched a sweeping crackdown in the wake of the terrorist attacks, forcing the closure of some Islamic schools and launching investigations into dozens of mosques. Authorities ordered the temporary closure of several mosques and associations including the Collective Against Islamophobia in France or CCIF, a group that provides legal representation to Muslims who say they have been targeted with discrimination.
Mr. Moussaoui welcomed some of the bill’s provisions, such as outlawing the practice among some Muslim families of requiring women to undergo a medical examination to check their virginity before they can marry.
He also said he was in favor of extending an existing ban on conspicuous religious symbols involving civil servants to employees who provide a public service like transportation, even if they aren’t directly employed by the government. In France, civil servants aren’t allowed to wear conspicuous religious symbols such as a Muslim head scarf or a crucifix at work.
“The fight against extremists who claim to be Muslims is also our fight. We are determined to lead it with all our strength,” Mr. Moussaoui said.
Write to Noemie Bisserbe at noemie.bisserbe@wsj.com
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