Feb
France’s National Assembly approved a controversial bill Tuesday that has been criticized for targeting Muslims. The draft law was approved with 347 lawmakers voting in favor, 151 against and 65 abstaining. Known as the “separatism” bill, it was supported by President Emmanuel Macron’s ruling La Republique En Marche (LREM) party, the Democratic Movement (MoDem), the […]
Feb
France’s Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin crossed swords with far-right leader Marine Le Pen Thursday night in a televised debate, with the two clashing over their competing visions on how to fight radical Islam and terrorism. The duel was highly anticipated, four years after Le Pen’s disastrous performance in a debate against then-candidate Emmanuel Macron dealt […]
Feb
French far-right leader Marine Le Pen Friday proposed a ban on Muslim headscarves in all public places, in a bid to build on a record recent poll that put her almost neck-and-neck with President Emmanuel Macron. The hijab policy, which would be contested in court and would almost certainly be ruled unconstitutional, saw the 53-year-old […]
Jan
Amid controversy over the government’s stance towards Muslims, Islamophobic attacks in France shot up by over half in 2020, the head of a monitoring group said Friday. There were 235 attacks on Muslims in France in 2020, up from 154 the previous year, a 53% jump, Abdallah Zekri, head of the National Observatory of Islamophobia, […]
Jan
French President Emmanuel Macron has said he will not issue a public apology for colonial abuses committed in Algeria. “There will be no repentance nor apologies” for France’s 132-year occupation of Algeria or for the brutal War of Independence, his office was quoted as saying by public broadcaster France 24. Algeria gained independence on July […]
Jan
French state policy can be seen as complicit in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, according to a researcher studying the official state archives. Francois Graner, research director at the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) at Paris Diderot University, has been researching official archives on France’s role in the genocide, which left some 800,000 dead, since […]
Jan
Ajudicial investigation will be opened into an alleged conflict of interest on the part of Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti, the prosecutor attached to France’s highest civil court said on Friday. Dupond-Moretti’s office declined to comment. It comes after an anti-corruption group in October filed a complaint to the Cour de la Justice de la République, […]
Jan
More than 20 people, including children, were killed in airstrikes during a wedding ceremony in a remote desert area of central Mali, according to local sources. It was not immediately clear who carried out the attacks but the reports emerged as French military sources said its forces in the country had carried out an airstrike […]
Dec
The French authorities have launched inspections of dozens of mosques and prayer halls suspected of links to Islamist extremism. Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin announced the crackdown, saying some could be closed if found to be encouraging “separatism”. It comes a week before the unveiling of a new law to combat such extremism. It is a […]
Nov
The State Council confirmed on Wednesday November 25 the dissolution of the NGO BarakaCity and the temporary closure of the Pantin mosque. The Council of State confirmed on Wednesday the dissolution of the NGO BarakaCity and the temporary closure of the Pantin mosque, considering like the government that they had disseminated messages inciting hatred or […]
